Summary:
MUMBAI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi called on NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday to resolve the dispute over the sharing of eight seats in the state for the forthcoming Lok Sabha (LS) elections. Of Maharashtra’s 48 LS seats, the two parties have reached an agreement on 40 seats, sharing 20 apiece.A week ago, during a meeting between senior Congress and NCP leaders, it was proposed that a decision on the disputed seats should be taken by Pawar and Gandhi. From their share of seats, the two major parties will have to part with a few. Accordingly, Gandhi, accompanied by AICC general secretary Malikarjun Kharge, called on Pawar to resolve the row.The disputed seats are: Jalna, Pune, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Yavatmal, Raver, Ratnigiri and Nandurbar. NCP has staked a claim on Pune, Aurangabad, Nandurbar and Ratnagiri, which were contested by Congress in the 2014 LS elections..