Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress Finalizes 12 Candidates In Maharashtra; Meeting With INDIA Allies Today

With a few weeks remaining in the general elections, Congress has geared up the talks with its INDIA allies to finalise the seat-sharing deal. The Congress' Central Election Committee held a meeting on Wednesday and finalised 12 candidates in Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha Polls. 

Maharashtra unit party President Nana Patole said that candidates have been finalised for 12 seats and the party will hold a meeting with Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar today to finalize the remaining seats.

Speaking to ANI Nana Patole said, "We have discussed at least 18-19 seats of Maharashtra, we have finalized at least 12 seats and tomorrow morning we have a meeting with Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray. Final discussions will be held and all seats will be announced by tomorrow or the day after tomorrow...''
The meeting of the CEC was attended by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal and other panel members. Rahul Gandhi, who is also a member of the panel, was not present during the meeting.

On the announcement of the Maharashtra candidates list for Lok Sabha elections, party leader Ramesh Chennithala said, "We are going to announce some seats and later we will announce other seats also. Maha Vikas Aghadi is intact and we are all going together..."

The panel headed by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has been deliberating on the candidates' list for Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
On announcing candidates for Lok Sabha elections, Congress MP KC Venugopal said, "Anytime it can be expected."

The Congress has so far announced 82 candidates in two lists for the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls beginning on April 19.

Amid the swiftly changing allegiances among political leaders in Maharashtra, Bajrang Sonawane, previously aligned with Ajit Pawar's faction within the NCP, made a significant move by joining Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The event took place in Pune, with Sharad Pawar and State President Jayant Patil present.

Sonawane, hailing from Beed district, Maharashtra, was regarded as a staunch supporter of Ajit Pawar and Dhananjay Munde following the split in the NCP last year. Notably, he accompanied Ajit Pawar when the latter joined the Eknath Shinde-led Grand Alliance government while serving as the NCP president for Beed district.

In the past, Sonawane contested against Pritam Munde in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections for the Beed seat, putting up a formidable challenge.
During the Pune event at the NCP SP headquarters, Sonawane expressed his decision to join Sharad Pawar's camp without harbouring any expectations. He stated his readiness to undertake any responsibility entrusted to him by Pawar.

Sonawane pledged his full support to the NCP's candidate from Beed, highlighting his enduring loyalty to the party. He emphasized that his decision to switch sides was influenced by the sentiments of numerous party workers who felt discontented elsewhere.

Addressing the gathering, Sharad Pawar acknowledged Sonawane's return and his past electoral performance. Pawar indicated that the party's senior leadership would deliberate on fielding Sonawane in the upcoming elections. He thanked the party workers for their support and assured them that a decision regarding the Beed constituency candidate would be made after careful consideration by senior leaders.

Pawar emphasized the importance of not hastily making political decisions based solely on localized issues and stressed the need for thoughtful deliberation before finalizing candidate selections.

(With agency inputs)