99 per cent work on MVA's seat-sharing completed, says Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday said 99 per cent of work on the Maha Vikas Aghadis seatsharing arrangement has been completed and leaders of the three alliance parties are expected to announce the formula later in the day reported news agency PTITalking to reporters Raut also indicated his party could contest 100 seatsThe Maharashtra assembly elections 2024 to the 288member assembly are scheduled on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23Top leaders of the oppositions Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA alliance met in Mumbai late Tuesday night with indications that the seatsharing arrangement for the Maharashtra assembly elections 2024 has been finalisedThe MVA comprises the Shiv Sena UBT Congress and NCP SPAfter the talks especially those between the Shiv Sena UBT and Congress hit a roadblock senior state Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat first met NCP SP president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday and then Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav ThackerayLater Thorat and other leaders of the MVA again sat together for a meeting that lasted for several hours at a hotel in MumbaiLeaders of the three parties were involved in hectic seatsharing deliberations which continued until late Tuesday nightRaut on Wednesday said Ninety nine per cent work on seatsharing has been completed By today evening leaders of the three parties will hold a press conference reported PTIShiv Sena referring to his faction led by Uddhav Thackeray is an experienced player so it has to hit a century There are expectations of people that Sena should hit a century in seats and overall victory he said reported PTITaking a dig at the Shiv Sena headed by CM Eknath Shinde BJP and MNS which have released their first lists of candidates Raut said the MVA has to form government which is why the allies took timeEach assembly segment was being deliberated upon the Rajya Sabha member addedHe said even if the MVA has not released its list the three parties have already given A and B forms to their candidatesThe A and B forms are important documents which denote a certain candidate has been approved by a political party and should be allotted the election symbol of that partyAsked if his party will field a candidate from Mahim against MNS president Raj Thackerays son Amit Thackeray Raut said the Sena was formed in MahimDadar belt and it cannot be the case that it will not field a candidate thereRaut also asserted that Shiv Sena UBT MLA Aaditya Thackeray will win from Worli seat with a bigger margin this timeAmit Thackeray son of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray will make his electoral debut from Mahim assembly seat in central Mumbai as per the list of candidates announced by the MNS for the Maharashtra assembly elections 2024Amit will be the third person from the extended Thackeray family to contest an election His father Raj Thackeray has never contested any pollAmits cousin Aaditya Thackeray Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackerays son made his debut by winning from neighbouring Worli seat in the 2019 assembly pollsUddhav Thackeray himself was elected to the legislative council in 2020 after he became Maharashtra chief ministerWith inputs from PTI