Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut affirms stand on 23 Lok Sabha seats ahead of 2024 Polls

Sanjay Raut/ ANI screengrab

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday reiterated the party's position on contesting 23 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections maintaining consistency in their seat-sharing arrangement.

Raut emphasised that the Shiv Sena, a powerful political force in Maharashtra, will continue to contest 23 Lok Sabha seats, including Dadra and Nagar Haveli, as it has in the past. Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) seat allocation negotiations are still ongoing, with Congress serving as an important ally in these negotiations, stated a report in ANI.

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"This is Maharashtra and Shiv Sena is the biggest party here. Congress is a national party. Uddhav Thackeray is having positive discussions with the decision-making leaders of Congress including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and K C Venugopal. We have always said that Shiv Sena has always been fighting on 23 Lok Sabha seats in the General Assembly elections including Dadra and Nagar Haveli and that will be firm."

According to the ANI report, while discussing the INDIA alliance's seat-sharing approach, Raut emphasised Shiv Sena's importance in Maharashtra and the ongoing constructive negotiations with Congress leaders like as Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and KC Venugopal.

"During our (INDIA alliance) meeting, we decided that discussions will be done later on the Lok Sabha seats that we have won. Congress did not win a seat in Maharashtra so they have to start from zero (seats) but Congress is an important ally for us in MVA. We will work together," he told ANI about the grand old party.

Raut emphasised the people's sustained support for Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar, expressing confidence in their alliance's unity despite ongoing seat distribution debates. He underlined that conversations about seat-sharing with Congress leaders would take place in Delhi rather than with Maharashtra politicians.

"People are in full support of Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar. On the issue of seat sharing, there is no conflict among MVA. Shiv Sena has always been fighting on 23 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 elections. We are having positive discussions with the decision-making leaders of Congress regarding seat sharing. On the seat-sharing we will talk with the Congress leaders only in Delhi and not Maharashtra local leaders," he added.

With ANI inputs