``The co-ordination committee of the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance today decided against holding simultaneous polls for Assembly and Lok Sabha,'' Chief Minister Narayan Rane announced after a two-hour meeting between top leaders of the alliance. Besides Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, the meeting was also attended by State BJP president Suryaban Wahadane, Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde, Uddhav and Raj Thackeray and BJP general secretary Sharad Kulkarni.

The decision assumes importance since BJP had specifically demanded that elections to the Maharashtra Assembly should be along with the Lok Sabha polls. However, it had beenopposed by the Shiv Sena.

Rane said that the co-ordination committee has urged the Election Commission to hold Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra in the first week of October. ``We feel that in view of the 10-day Ganesh festival in the last week of September, polling should not be held to ensure effective deployment of police force,'' Rane said.

On sharing of seats, Rane said there was absolutely no change from the last election's agreement. Out of the 48 seats, Sena will contest 22 seats while BJP will contest 26. ``No decision has been taken about the candidates,'' he said, adding that the nominees will be decided by the respective parties. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will launch the alliance's election campaign at Shivaji Park on May 11 in the presence of Bal Thackeray, Rane further stated. A joint convention of the Shiv Sena and the BJP will also be held on June 5 and 6. However, the venue for the meeting has not been decided so far.