MVA deadlock over Vidarbha: Uddhav demands more, Cong digs in heels

Nagpur: Congress leaders have dug in their heels in Vidarbha, saying they won't "gift seats to allies" just for the sake of it. The tussle within MVA centres around some seats in Vidarbha, where Sena (UBT) is keen to field candidates. While Congress leaders during discussions said Vidarbha is their stronghold, UBT's Sanjay Raut on Monday, in a tongue-in-cheek remark, said Vidarbha is still a part of Maharashtra.
Talking to reporters, Raut said, "Vidarbha is not a separate state, it is still part of united Maharashtra." This was clearly a swipe at Vidarbha's Congress leaders, who were trying to make a point that their party held sway in the eastern section of the state.
Currently, top state leaders are now camping in Delhi to convince the high command not to yield to pressure from Shiv Sena (UBT). Sources in Congress say Sena leader Sanjay Raut has a hotline with Rahul Gandhi and may prevail upon the latter to give up a few seats.
A Congress neta, who is currently in Delhi said, "It's possible Shiv Sena (UBT) may be candid in their admission that their cadres need to be placated, hence a few seats are needed. So, instead of 10, Sena may end the deadlock, if they get to walk away with five seats. This will help save face with district-level units. But this yuti-dharam (alliance relationship) cannot be at the cost of Congress' existence."
The intra-alliance friction began last week, when Shiv Sena leaders expressed their frustration against state Congress president Nana Patole, as the latter was driving a hard bargain. To end the stalemate, Congress' poll in charge, Ramesh Chennithala, held talks with Uddhav Thackeray, and then MVA talks restarted. Despite discussions going on for over 10 hours on Saturday, no solution was hammered out.
On Sunday, Congress leaders flew down to Delhi and met with their high command. Surprisingly, various factions within Congress in Vidarbha seem to have come together, in a rare show of unity, and stay firm on getting maximum seats possible in Vidarbha.
Another Nagpur-based Congress leader, who is also in Delhi, said, "If Shiv Sena demands a seat like Nagpur South, how can we justify this within city limits? In Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), there are only two corporators of Sena (out of 156). So that gives a clear idea of their presence in the city."
Senior Congress leader and former cabinet minister Nitin Raut said, "Let's get one thing clear, Vidarbha is a Congress bastion. Our main competitor is BJP. Regardless of the tug-of-war over seats, we have displayed a benevolent face. We are ready to adjust, but the demand must not be unjustified." Raut, however, added most contentious issues have been worked upon, and a final resolution should be found within a few days.