The Shiv Sena (UBT) set the cat among pigeons on Wednesday as it unilaterally announced its first list of 17 candidates for the coming Lok Sabha elections. While announcing the list, the party said that it is contesting 22 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, much to the disappointment of the Congress that claimed talks among INDIA allies on seat-sharing were still underway.

Addressing a press conference after the Sena announced its candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said that the Shiv Sena’s “arbitrary” declaration of candidates for four of the six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai had upset the Congress cadre deeply.

“I demand that our top leadership take a stand against this decision of the Shiv Sena. The candidate that Shiv Sena has fielded from northwest Mumbai – where I was presenting a strong candidature – took bribes from the contractor in COVID Khichdi scam. ED is probing it…Shiv Sena is deliberately fielding such a ‘Khichdi chor’. This has hurt Congress cadres. I am upset too,” Nirupam, who was hopeful of a ticket from the seat, told reporters.

Nirupam further said that the Congress’ negotiators failed to present the party’s stand strongly. “.Shiv Sena (UBT) has attempted to suppress Congress. This attempt is part of conspiracy to finish Congress in Mumbai…Congress leadership will have to take a stand,” Nirupam said, adding that the party should either have a friendly fight or break off its alliance with the Shiv Sena.

The Congress leader’s outburst came on a day the MVA, which has held several rounds of meetings ahead of the announcement of Lok Sabha polls, found itself in the midst of chaos following the release of the Sena’s first list. On Wednesday, Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) also announced its decision to contest the coming elections independently and declared candidates for eight Lok Sabha seats.

The developments also came on a day when the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP also indicated it would announce its share of 5 candidates separately, implying that the Opposition’s alliance in the state had been pushed to the brink.

The three parties — the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress and the NCP — are partners in the MVA, an alliance formed in the aftermath of the undivided Shiv Sena’s break-up with the BJP following the 2019 Assembly elections.

Maharashtra goes to polls in five of the seven phases — five seats on April 19, 8 seats on April 26, 11 seats each on May 7 and 13, and 13 seats on May 20. The results will be declared on June 4. In the Lok Sabha elections held in 2019, the NDA, comprising the Shiv Sena and the BJP, emerged on top, winning 41 of the 48 seats in the state.