Pune: MVA would get around 165 seats in the state and ruling Mahayuti partners would be in an advantageous position in Mumbai, Konkan and north Maharashtra , a survey conducted by the opposition alliance partners about three months before the assembly elections suggested. “We won 31 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha polls. It is around 65% of the total 48 seats.
Ideally, we would like to maintain the same average in the assembly elections, which would get us around 188 seats. Our preliminary assessment suggests that we will be winning around 165 seats. It is a good number, but still we would like to improve the tally in actual polls later this year,” a senior Congress member told TOI.
At least 144 assembly seats are required to form the govt in the state. Riding high on the Lok Sabha elections success, the alliance of Congress, NCP (SCP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) is now looking to replicate the same performance in the assembly polls, expected to be held around Diwali. In a collective meeting of MVA partners while deciding the strategy, the alliance partners divided the state into seven regions for assessment.
According to MVA members, the alliance has an upper hand in Nagpur, Amravati, Marathwada and western Maharashtra regions. “Among the alliance partners, Congress will perform better in Nagpur and Amravati regions. Marathwada also looks favourable for the alliance, where Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have good support.
In western Maharashtra, the alliance is d.