Both the state and the Centre Congress are worried that the NCP may just overtake them in the 2014 assembly polls, threatening its chief ministerial post.
The rapid political growth of the NCP has the Congress worried, with the party’s central leadership planning a review of CM Prithviraj Chavan’s performance besides reflecting on why its top cabinet ministers failed to deliver in the recent polls.
Both the state and the Centre Congress are worried that the NCP may just overtake them in the 2014 assembly polls, threatening its chief ministerial post.
Confirming that the party will convene a meeting to review its shortcomings post-UP polls, a senior AICC functionary said, “The party believes elections are a collective responsibility where performance of top leaders as well as ministers will be evaluated.”
While it acknowledged the reality of the threat from the NCP in the state, Congress believes a change of guard in the MPCC and the government cannot be the remedy.
On the contrary, CM Prithviraj Chavan’s clean image will augur well for the party, which is riddled with scams.
What has complicated matters for the Congress is that all the chief ministerial aspirants holding plum portfolios have not lived up to expectations.
For one, minister of forest Patangrao Kadam, a loyalist with vast experience, has failed to beat the NCP in his home district Sangli. Of the 62 seats in Sangli, the Congress won 23 seats and the NCP 33 seats.
Considering that state home minister RR Patil and rural minister Jayant Patil of the NCP are known political rivals in the district, the Congress is left wondering as to why it could not exploit the sharp differences within the NCP to its advantage.
Moreover, minister of revenue Balasaheb Thorat hails from Sangmaner in Ahmednagar. Cooperation and parliamentary affairs Harshvardhan Patil failed to give a tough fight to the NCP in his district Pimri-Chinchwad (municipal corporation). Of 128 seats, Congress won only 14 while NCP bagged 83.
In Konkan, where Congress industries minister Narayan Rane, the party faced defeat in Ratnagiri though it managed to save its turf in Sindhudurg. Of the total 57 seats in Ratnagiri, the Congress won only three and the NCP 19 seats.
A state Congress official said, “In 2014 assembly elections, our biggest challenge is the NCP. The overall results in the 27 zilla parishads and municipal corporations show that the NCP is way ahead of the Congress.”
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