Congress to interview Maharashtra poll picks amid INDIA seat-sharing talks: Sources

Congress is set to interview probable candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra despite the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) still continuing talks to finalise a seat-sharing deal between the three constituent parties, sources said. So far, Congress has received applications from 1,688 candidates and will take a call when a final consensus is reached on the seat-sharing issue.
According to the sources, Congress has deputed MLA Sangram Thopate and MLC Satej Patil to interview the Mumbai candidates, while 34 party functionaries will conduct for rest of the contenders across the state.
The interviews will be conducted from October 1 to 8 and reports are to be submitted to the party by October 10.
On Monday, MVA leaders held a seven-hour-long meeting to finalise the seat-sharing deal. Another meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.
Congress state president Nana Patole termed Monday’s meeting “positive”.
“We will announce 200 candidates before Dussehra (October 12). There is no rift in the alliance partners as speculated by the media,” he said.
Traditional rivalry has prevailed between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress for many Assembly seats in Maharashtra.
In the 2024 general elections, the MVA, which comprises the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and the Shiv Sena (UBT), won 30 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.
Of these seats, the Congress won 13, the majority number.
Leaders of the alliance are yet to announce a Chief Ministerial face ahead of the elections, which are likely to be held in November.