MVA still eager to engage in seatsharing talks with Ambedkar’s VBA, says Raut
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday that the Maha Vikas Aaghadi (MVA) remains eager to engage in seatsharing discussions with the Prakash Ambedkarled Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA), despite the latter’s declaration of candidates for several Lok Sabha constituencies.
Mr. Raut reiterated his call for the elimination of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in favour of conducting elections via ballot papers. He said if polling is not conducted using EVMs, the BJP would face defeat.
Previously engaged in discussions with the Opposition MVA, comprising the
Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), and Shiv Sena (UBT) for the Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Ambedkar had recently unveiled candidates for 20 out of the total 48 seats in the State.
‘Offered 5 seats’
The Sena (UBT) leader clarified that while the MVA had presented a proposal offering the VBA five seats, including Akola, Ramtek, Dhule, and a seat in Mumbai, it was the VBA that discontinued negotiations with the MVA. Mr. Raut affirmed that the MVA continues to be interested in having a dialogue with the VBA. “We were not the one to stop the dialogue with VBA. In fact, we are still keen on holding talks with them,” he said.
The VBA’s candidates secured third place in several constituencies during the 2019 Lok Sabha election, where the Congress or the NCP (undivided) candidates were placed second. This outcome indicated a division of votes largely in favour of the winning candidates, primarily from the BJP and the Shiv Sena (undivided).