Opposition parties may be trying to remain on the same page nationally when it comes to taking on the BJP, but a recurring problem has been resolving their differences at the regional level.In Maharashtra, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) plan to contest the October 23 Legislative Council elections together is under strain, with the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) set to face each other in Amravati Teachers constituency, while the Sena (UBT) and the NCP (SP) are pitted against each other in the Marathwada Graduates constituency. The other seats where elections are being held are Pune Graduates, Nagpur Graduates, and Pune Teachers.AdvertisementThe differences have cropped up within days of the three parties deciding to contest the five Council seats together. With Tuesday the last day to file nominations — candidates have till October 9 to withdraw their nominations — the parties have failed to reach an agreement in these two constituencies.In Amravati Teachers constituency, the Congress has fielded Aditi Pohare, while the Sena (UBT) has put up Dattatray Lahane. Lahane filed his nomination on October 6 in the presence of Sena leaders. The Congress had announced Pohare along with sitting MLCs Abhijit Wanjari from Nagpur Graduates and Jayant Asgaonkar from Pune Teachers on October 3.Pohare joined the Congress days before her candidature was announced. She is the daughter of Harshvardhan Deshmukh who heads the Shri Shivaji Education Society in Amravati. The society has a large number of teachers among its staff, giving Pohare a local base in a constituency where the candidates are elected by registered teachers.AdvertisementThe Sena (UBT), however, says it was Lahane for the Amravati seat. After announcing his candidature, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut made it clear that the party would not give up the seat simply to avoid a contest with the Congress. “We are contesting two seats, Amravati and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Marathwada). You call it a friendly fight or whatever you want. We are contesting them,” he said.Raut argues that the Sena (UBT) was not seeking all the seats the Congress was claiming. He said his party was willing to leave the Nagpur Graduates and Pune Teachers seats to the Congress and was even prepared to give up Pune Graduates to the NCP (SP), despite the work done by its leaders to register voters there.All three parties have worked separately to build their voter base in the Graduates and Teachers constituencies and each has its own claim to some of the seats, Raut has said.Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said voter registration was an important factor in these elections. “These elections are not based on ordinary voting. The side that registers more members(voters) has greater weight,” he said.He said the Congress had not claimed Pune Graduates when the Sena (UBT) had a sitting member there, while the Sena (UBT) had not claimed Pune Teachers as the Congress had a sitting member there. “When there is a sitting member, it is not right for another party to demand that seat,” he said.The position of the NCP (SP) in Amravati remains less clear. On Monday, one of its district presidents attended Lahane’s nomination programme, while another local leader said the senior leadership had not taken a final decision. The contrasting positions suggested that the party was not comfortable with the situation.A direct contestThe second dispute has become more direct. The Sena (UBT) has fielded Dilip Ghuge from the Marathwada Graduates constituency. Ghuge filed his nomination on October 5. The following day, Dr Pratapsinh Patil of the NCP (SP) announced that he was filing his nomination as the authorised candidate of the Sharad Pawar-led party and the MVA.Patil’s campaign also shows how the contest could play out. In a social media post on Tuesday, he said his candidature was not merely about filing a nomination but about starting a new fight for graduates, students, unemployed youth, and ordinary people in Marathwada.Taking aim at Satish Chavan, who has represented the seat since 2008 and is contesting this time as the candidate of the NCP and ruling Mahayuti alliance, Patil asked what had changed for graduates in the past 18 years, raising issues such as employment, education, examination paper leaks, and students’ future.However, the Sena (UBT)’s decision to contest the seat has complicated the equations and upset the NCP (SP), which has traditionally regarded Marathwada Graduates as an NCP seat. NCP (SP) leaders in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar have argued that the party won the constituency for three consecutive terms and should therefore continue to contest it.NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule sought to play down the differences. Asked about the disagreement over the Council seats, she said there was no dissatisfaction within the MVA and that “the issue will become clear” after further discussions.Raut has rejected the argument that the NCP (SP) somehow has an automatic claim over the seat. He has pointed out that before joining the NCP following the split in the party, Chavan was a Congress member and the political situation has changed since then.you may likeUnderstanding fails to holdEarlier this month, the MVA decided to contest the five seats going to polls on October 23 together. The Opposition alliance’s strategy was discussed at a meeting attended by Congress leaders Naseem Khan and Harshwardhan Sapkal, NCP (SP) leaders Shashikant Shinde and Harshwardhan Patil, and Raut. The Congress at the time said the parties were looking at the constituencies held by the NCP, the NCP (SP), and an Independent, and would take a call on the candidates after determining their chances of winning.That understanding now appears to have failed in two constituencies. In both cases, the parties have moved ahead with nominations rather than waiting for a final decision at the alliance level.However, the Opposition alliance still has time till October 9 to avoid friendly fights and give itself the best possible chance to defeat the Mahayuti. Otherwise, the folly of friendly fights might become apparent when the votes are counted on October 27.