A senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader has sharply criticized Congress for its “overconfidence” and “attitude” during the seat-sharing negotiations for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, claiming that the party’s approach harmed the prospects of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.

The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance scored a decisive victory in the elections, securing 230 out of 288 seats. At the same time, the MVA coalition, which included Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray, won just 46 seats.

Ambadas Danve, Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, expressed dissatisfaction with Congress’s conduct during the alliance talks. He emphasized that the MVA would have had a better chance if Uddhav Thackeray had been presented as the Chief Ministerial candidate. Danve remarked, “Congress was already preparing its suit and tie before the results were even out.”

Danve also pointed to Congress’s overconfidence following its strong performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, where the party won 13 seats, more than any other MVA ally. This success, he suggested, led Congress to demand more seats in the state elections, creating friction within the alliance. While Congress had contested 103 seats, it only won 16. In comparison, Shiv Sena (UBT) contested 89 seats and won 20, while the NCP, led by Sharad Pawar, contested 87 seats and secured 10.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said, “Congress thought they could dictate terms because of their performance in the Lok Sabha, but that overconfidence backfired. Their attitude impacted The seat-sharing talks, which hurt the alliance’s prospects.” Danve reiterated that the alliance might have fared better if Uddhav Thackeray had been promoted as the CM face.

Danve also suggested that some leaders within Shiv Sena (UBT) had raised concerns about the party’s organizational structure, hinting at internal challenges. He said that Shiv Sena (UBT) would focus on strengthening the party in preparation for future elections to contest all 288 Assembly seats in the next polls.

BJP and ‘Many Shindes’

On the topic of Eknath Shinde, the Shiv Sena leader who split from the party and formed an alliance with the BJP, Danve remarked that the BJP has “many Shindes” across the country, accusing the party of using leaders like Shinde for their benefit and discarding them once they were no longer needed.

His comments come as the BJP-led Mahayuti continues discussions over who will assume the Chief Minister’s post, with the BJP emerging as the dominant force in the alliance after securing 132 seats. Eknath Shinde’s faction of Shiv Sena won 57 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP secured 41 seats.

After days of speculation, Eknath Shinde announced that he would accept Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s final decision and the BJP leadership’s decision on who would take the top post. This signals the continued power struggles and negotiations within the Maharashtra political landscape as the BJP seeks to consolidate its position as the ruling party in the state.