The Maha Vikas Aghadi has reached consensus on 210 of the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, which is a "significant achievement", Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut said on Monday.
The aim is to ensure the defeat of forces looting Maharashtra, he said in a swipe at the ruling alliance comprising Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, the BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
"We have arrived at a consensus on 210 seats. It is a significant achievement. We aim to contest polls as a joint force and we will defeat the forces looting Maharashtra," Raut, a Rajya Sabha MP and key strategist for the Shiv Sena-UBT, told reporters.
The MVA comprises the Shiv Sena-UBT, the Congress and Sharad Pawar's NCP-SP. Raut's comments came amid a flurry of news channel reports that the Uddhav Thackeray-led party may break away from the MVA and contest all 288 seats on its own.
The past few days have seen hectic parleys among the three main opposition parties to finalise a seat-sharing deal, with speculation doing the rounds of the Congress and Shiv Sena-UBT not being on the same page.
The statement from Raut also comes amid speculation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah having a phone conservation with him, hinting at the Shiv Sena-UBT and BJP, which were allies for decades before going their separate ways in 2019, getting back together. -- PTI