As the Congress labours through intense seat negotiations with INDIA bloc allies ahead of the national election, Rahul Gandhi dialled Uddhav Thackeray yesterday to discuss the deadlock over eight of Maharashtra’s 48 seats.

Rahul Gandhi, who is in the middle of a Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, reportedly spoke to the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader for an hour.

The Congress, say sources, want to contest three of Mumbai’s six Lok Sabha seats – Mumbai South Central, Mumbai North Central and Mumbai North West. Uddhav Thackeray reportedly wants to contest 18 Lok Sabha seats in the state, including four in Mumbai – Mumbai South, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East and Mumbai South Central.

For the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar’s NCP and the Congress, the seat talks are entirely uncharted territory as the parties formed the ideologically mismatched alliance after the last Lok Sabha election in 2019. The three have managed an agreement on nearly 40 seats but negotiators are stuck on eight seats.

The undivided Shiv Sena fought 22 of 48 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and won 18, including three in Mumbai.

Uddhav Thackeray’s party ended its 25-year alliance with the BJP months later, after failing to agree on power-sharing terms following the Maharashtra state polls.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed after the Shiv Sena split and Eknath Shinde’s faction formed a new government with the BJP.

Earlier this year, Sharad Pawar’s NCP suffered a similar rupture, with the veteran’s nephew Ajit Pawar joining the Eknath Shinde-BJP coalition government.

The Congress fears a similar exodus after two of its prominent leaders in Maharashtra, former chief minister Ashok Chavan, and Milind Deora, crossed over to the BJP.

The defections have complicated the seat negotiations for the Maharashtra opposition allies.

Sources say Uddhav Thackeray’s party, after the Congress defections, wants a greater share in Mumbai seats.

However, sources assert that Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge are all determined to make it work, aware that for each party, it is a battle for survival.

The Congress recently sealed difficult seat sharing deals with Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party.

The party has also redoubled efforts to close a deal with Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has refused to part with more than five of her state’s 42 seats.

Alia Bhatt has wrapped filming for her next, Jigra. The Vasan Bala directorial also features The Archies actor Vedang Raina.

Alia Bhatt surprised fans on Thursday with photos from the sets of Jigra alongside her co-star Vedang Raina. The two can be seen sitting together and sharing a cute candid moment.

Check it out here:

Alia captioned the post, “Jigra oh… abki teri baari ho #VedangRaina & that’s a film wrap on #JIGRA @Vasan_Bala @swapneel25. See you soon… 27th September 2024 at a cinema near you.”

Vedang reacted to the snaps in the comments section. He wrote, “The best ever.”

Jigra was announced in September last year. While much of the film’s details have been kept under wraps, it is touted to be a tale of a sister’s love for her brother.

Jigra will release on September 27, 2024.

The Congress‘ renewed attempt at sealing a seat-share deal with the Trinamool for the general election may not end well, with sources telling NDTV Friday morning Bengal’s ruling party is unlikely to budge from its initial offer. Sources said the Congress had reduced its ask to five Lok Sabha seats.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, appears unmoved from her earlier position; she had said she would only give two to a party that won just that many in the 2019 election and zero in the 2021 state poll. 

And that seems to be her position still. “Even with binoculars we are unable to find a third seat for the Congress”, a Trinamool spokesperson, told NDTV, underlining the divide. 

“(However), if consensus is reached then an announcement will be made soon” the spokesperson added.

Sources said the Congress wants to contest three seats currently held by the BJP, including one in the party’s north Bengal bastion. This is in addition to the ones offered – Berhampore and Malda (South) – which it won last time.

The Congress wants Darjeeling, Malda (North), and Raiganj, all held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party. Purulia – also held by the BJP – is also in the mix but is the least likely to be surrendered.

READ | Congress-Trinamool Seat Talks Back After Mamata’s Snub: Sources

The Congress – boosted by a rush of agreements with the Samajwadi Party and the Aam Aadmi Party  – reached out Thursday evening, hoping for a rapprochement after Ms Banerjee, angered by what she felt were unrealistic demands, cut ties last month and put her INDIA membership on hold. 

“… in Bengal only Trinamool can teach BJP a lesson…” she had declared, and followed that with a sharp put-down of her ally. “I told Congress… ‘You don’t have a single MLA here, I am offering two MP seats and we will ensure you win those.’ They said… ‘No’. So I said, ‘Now I won’t give a single seat’.”

The Congress, meanwhile, has also stepped up talks in Maharashtra, with Rahul Gandhi speaking directly to Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray to resolve a deadlock over eight seats.

READ | Rahul Gandhi’s Phone Call With Uddhav Thackeray Amid Seats Row

The party is hoping to capitalise on a rush of positivity after closing deals with Akhilesh Yadav’s SP – for 17 seats in Uttar Pradesh – and Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP – for three seats in Delhi and more.

READ | After Delhi, AAP-Congress Seal Seat Deal For Goa, Haryana, Gujarat: Sources

Seat-sharing has been one of the bloc’s pain points, with many of the Congress allies forcing the party to deal on their terms, particularly in light of its recent dismal electoral record. That disadvantage was reportedly highlighted by former party boss Sonia Gandhi during talks with the Samajwadi Party.

Sources said Ms Gandhi spoke to the Congress’ UP leaders and told their demands were “unrealistic”, and that they should prioritise a functional alliance and a stronger chance of winning the election.

READ | To Solve UP Seat-Sharing Deadlock, Sonia, Priyanka Gandhi Stepped In

Set up in June, the bloc has already lost Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) – a founding member – and Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtra Lok Dal, which has influence among the Jat community in western UP. Both the JDU and the RLD have aligned with the BJP.

With just weeks for the election, the Congress is near the point of no return for seat-share deals, which is another reason why it seems the party is agreeing to secondary status in state-level alliances.

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