As Seat-Sharing Talks Progress, Congress Interviews Candidates For Maharashtra Elections: Reports

The Congress party is preparing to interview potential candidates for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, even as the opposition coalition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) continues discussions to finalise a seat-sharing agreement among its three constituent parties. So far, Congress has received applications from 1,688 candidates and will make a decision once a consensus is reached on the seat-sharing arrangement.

According to India Today reports, the Congress has assigned MLA Sangram Thopate and MLC Satej Patil to conduct interviews for candidates in Mumbai, while 34 party officials will oversee interviews for the remaining candidates throughout the state.

The interviews are scheduled to take place from October 1 to 8, with reports expected to be submitted to the party by October 10.

On Monday, MVA leaders convened for a seven-hour meeting to discuss the seat-sharing deal, with another meeting planned for Tuesday.

Congress state president Nana Patole described Monday's meeting as "positive." He stated, "We will announce 200 candidates before Dussehra (October 12). There is no rift among the alliance partners as speculated by the media."

Historical rivalries between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress persist over several Assembly seats in Maharashtra.

In the 2024 general elections, the MVA-comprising Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT)-secured 30 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, with Congress winning the highest number at 13 seats.

Alliance leaders have yet to announce a Chief Ministerial candidate ahead of the elections, which are anticipated to take place in November.