Congress Should Not Allow Itself To Be Arm-Twisted by Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena (UBT) for Seats in Mumbai, Says Sanjay Nirupam

In the wake of the Shiv Sena (UBT) announcing 17 candidates  for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam voiced his concerns on Saturday, urging his party should not allow itself to be arm-twisted from the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction regarding seat allocations in Mumbai. Nirupam alleged that the Shiv Sena (UBT) relies heavily on Congress support and lacks the ability to secure any seats independently.

Earlier this week, the Sena (UBT) released a roster featuring 17 candidates, affirming its intention to compete for a total of 22 parliamentary seats in Maharashtra. Notably, this list encompassed four seats within Mumbai.

Nirupam himself is vying to contest the Mumbai North-West seat, which he lost in 2019. However, the decision by the Thackeray-led party has stirred unease among the other two Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies – Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar). The trio is yet to reach a consensus on the seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, scheduled to be conducted in five phases in Maharashtra starting April 19.

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The Congress should not come under the threat of Shiv Sena (UBT) as the Uddhav Thackeray-led party is not capable of winning any seat without Congress support.” “Shiv Sena (UBT) arm-twisted the Congress to take five of the six seats in Mumbai. But the Congress should not allow itself to be arm-twisted like this. This action is against the Congress and it’s a ploy to finish off the party in the city,” the former Mumbai Congress chief alleged.

He said if the Congress is considering friendly fights in the disputed constituencies, he was ready for it. He was responding to Congress leader Naseem Khan’s statement that the party’s state unit has sent a proposal to its central leadership seeking permission to have friendly fights in the six seats in Mumbai.