3 min readMumbaiMay 30, 2026 08:06 AM IST
Even as the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Friday finalized seat sharing for 15 out of 17 seats for the upcoming Legislative Council polls, the ruling Mahayuti alliance is yet to announce its formula.
After an internal party meeting that lasted nearly three hours, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said the seat-sharing arrangement would be finalised by Saturday afternoon.
“We discussed the Council election scenario. The final seat sharing will be announced on Saturday afternoon after discussions with the leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena,” said NCP state president Sunil Tatkare.
Amid speculation of infighting within the party, the NCP meeting was attended by senior leaders under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar. Party working president Praful Patel, state chief Sunil Tatkare, minister Chhagan Bhujbal, and former ministers Dilip Walse Patil and Dhananjay Munde were present.
According to sources, NCP is seeking three seats — Raigad, Pune and Parbhani — while the other two alliance partners are willing to offer only two. Sources said both BJP and Shiv Sena have also expressed interest in contesting from Pune and the Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency, leading to discontent within the NCP.
The NCP had also held the Ahilyanagar seat, which is up for polls, and party leaders insist that if the other two parties are unwilling to give up seats they had previously won, then Ahilyanagar should remain with the NCP.
Tatkare said the final decision on seat sharing would be taken by Sunetra Pawar after discussions with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Meanwhile, Shinde, who is reportedly insisting on four to five Council seats, cancelled all his engagements on Friday and remained at his residence in Thane. On Wednesday and Thursday, Shinde had camped in Delhi in an attempt to meet BJP leaders. Sources within the Shiv Sena confirmed that he did not get a meeting with the BJP leadership.
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Eknath Shinde had sought a bigger share in the Maharashtra Legislative Council when he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Sunday. “What has emerged is that Shinde wants at least seven out of 17 seats in the state Legislative Council,” said BJP sources.
BJP and the Shinde-led Sena have both claimed the Thane seat. BJP leaders argued that the seat should go to the party because it has stronger numbers in the constituency. The Shinde-led Sena, however, considers Thane its traditional stronghold and is unwilling to give up the seat.
Sources also said the Shinde-led Sena is preparing to field a candidate in Raigad, further complicating negotiations.
The BJP has made it clear that seat distribution should be based on each alliance partner’s numerical strength in the Assembly. The BJP has 12 seats, the Shiv Sena has 3, and the NCP has 2.
The elections are being held for 16 seats from MLC constituencies and one bypoll seat from Nagpur. Voting will be held on June 18, while counting will take place on June 22.
