MUMBAI, April 18 -- The Maharashtra Congress is likely to stake claim to one of the nine seats headed for the biennial Legislative Council elections scheduled on May 12, a move that could trigger a fresh round of friction within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) soon after the Rajya Sabha polls. On Friday, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal reached New Delhi to discuss the issue with the party high command. With the current numerical strength of the opposition in the state, only one candidate from the MVA coalition is likely to win if the alliance remains united during the election. Congress insiders said the party is keen to contest the council polls and believes it deserves an opportunity after stepping aside in the recently held Rajya Sabha elections in favour of Sharad Pawar. "The state leadership clearly believes that they should get a chance to fight the polls as they chose not to contest the recently held Rajya Sabha polls, to make way for Sharad Pawar," a senior leader said. "We had agreed to leave the seat for Uddhav Thackeray as he has been the face of the MVA coalition. But if he is not willing to contest the elections, then we would like to field our candidate," Sapkal said. Nine Legislative Council seats are due for polls, with the winning quota for each seat fixed at 29 votes. The combined strength of the MVA coalition stands at 46 votes, with Shiv Sena (UBT) holding 20, Congress 16 and NCP (SP) 10 seats in the state assembly after the November 2024 elections. A separate by-election will also be held to fill the vacancy created by Congress member Pradnya Satav's resignation. Satav, who later joined the BJP, had a term originally set to run until July 27, 2030. A candidate will need 144 votes to win the by-election for that seat. Sena (UBT), however, is keen to retain the seat, though there is still no confirmation on whether Thackeray himself will enter the fray....