Sena (UBT) declared MLC poll candidates without consulting allies, says Congress
The Hindu Bureau
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Tuesday said Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray “unilaterally” announced candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections without consulting the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance partners.
The MVA comprises the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), and Shiv Sena (UBT).
Speaking at a press conference, Mr. Patole asked Mr. Thackeray to withdraw the Sena (UBT) candidates selected for the Konkan Graduates and Nashik Teachers constituencies and allow the Congress to ¢eld its candidates.
The biennial elections to four Legislative Council seats — Mumbai Graduates, Konkan Graduates, Mumbai Teachers, and Nashik Teachers — were necessitated as the terms of sitting members will expire in July. The polls are scheduled to be held on June 26 and the results will be out on July 1.
“Mr. Thackeray announced the candidates for the Konkan Graduates and Nashik Teachers constituencies without holding any discussions with the Congress or the NCP (SP). We were under the impression that before making any ¢nal decision, a meeting will be organised with all the alliance partners, but it did not happen,” Mr. Patole said.
He said he had attempted to contact Mr. Thackeray when the candidates were announced, but the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief was abroad.
The Congress State president said that his party had ¢nalised the candidature of Sandeep Gulve for the Nashik Teachers constituency, but Mr. Thackeray inducted Mr. Gulve into Sena (UBT) without any discussions with the alliance partners and ¢elded him as candidate. “All I want for us, as allies, is to be on the same page on decisions made on the seat sharing so that it becomes easier for all of us to win and form government.”