Mumbai, July 26 (IANS): The All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Friday set up two special committees to discuss and hammer out a seat-sharing formula with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections to be held in October.

AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal said that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the panels for the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) and the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC).

The seven-member MPCC includes state Congress President Nana F. Patole, Congress Legislative Party Leader Balasaheb Thorat, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, ex-Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, MPCC Working President M. Arif Naseem Khan, and ex-ministers Nitin Raut and Satej (Bunty) Patil.

The panel members for the MRCC are Mumbai Congress President and MP Varsha E. Gaikwad, ex-minister Aslam Khan, and MLC Ashok alias Bhai Jagtap.

A party leader here said that in view of the forthcoming Assembly elections, the panels will be authorised to conduct all negotiations with MVA allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (SP), plus other smaller parties, to arrive at a consensual understanding for all the 288 seats in the House.