Pune: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi may set the ball rolling for the MVA 's quest in the state poll when he visits Sangli district of Maharashtra on Sept 5. Congress MLA Vishwajeet Kadam on Tuesday confirmed the visit. On Sept 5 which marks Teachers' Day, Rahul will unveil the memorial and statue of former Congress cabinet minister and Vishwajeet's father, late Patangrao Kadam.
The Kadams are education barons with several institutes in the state. The event would be organised at Kadegaon in Sangli, their home district. "Congress' national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Telangana's chief minister Revanth Reddy will also be present," Kadam said in Pune.
The assembly poll is likely to be held post-Diwali in Nov. The MVA may look at a show of strength to begin its campaigning in the presence of the Congress leader. "Senior members of MVA, including NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Congress state president Nana Patole, and other senior members of the alliance will be present," Kadam added.
At present, the top leadership of the alliance is holding rounds of discussions to finalise the seat-sharing formula before Rahul's visit to start campaigning. According to the senior members, Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) may contest 100 seats each, while NCP (SCP) is likely to field candidates from 80 seats. The MVA may give eight to 10 seats to smaller parties in the alliance.
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