PAWAR PLAY: HITS 85 AT 83

Sharad Pawar has long been the master of political strategy, often referred to as "Power Play," for good reason. On Wednesday, he once again demonstrated why, proving that age and setbacks have done little to diminish his ability to outmaneuver opponents.

- Ravikiran Deshmukh

But first, the news: after days of intense negotiations, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) finally revealed a seat-sharing formula on Wednesday evening—85 seats each for Congress, the NCP (Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party), and Uddhav Shiv Sena (UBT).

However, as with any deal brokered by Pawar, there's more to the story than meets the eye. The agreement is, in fact, incomplete. It all began when Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena UBT struggled to reach a consensus on how to divide Maharashtra's 288 assembly seats.

To resolve the deadlock, Congress leaders sought Pawar's guidance, holding a crucial meeting at the Y.B. Chavan Centre in South Mumbai. Pawar, the veteran mediator, quickly set to work, bringing together Congress leaders Vijay Wadettiwar (Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly), MPCC (Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee) President Nana Patole, and Congress group leader Balasaheb Thorat.

In true Pawar fashion, the formula was unveiled, but the finer details were left hanging.