With barely five weeks to go for the state assembly elections, both the high-profile marriages of convenience in the state are plagued by uncertainty and mistrust.
The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) can’t seem to meet, let alone agree, on the seat-sharing formula. Meanwhile, the fate of the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance hangs in balance, waiting for the outcome of the Congress-NCP negotiations. The Sena-BJP combine has already postponed its plans to make public the list of candidates as disputes related to seats — in terms of specific allocation — remain unresolved.
The issue spiralled in the Congress-NCP quarter on Sunday when, frustrated by the delay in finalising the seat-sharing formula, the NCP president Sharad Pawar indicated his party could contest all the 288 seats on its own. The Union agriculture minister parked himself for 48 hours at the party headquarters in Nariman Point to shortlist candidates for western and north Maharashtra. On Monday, he plans to formalise candidates for the Marathwada and Mumbai/Konkan regions.
The Congress is in no hurry, backed by the strength of its performance in the Lok Sabha polls, and the relatively poor showing of the NCP. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Manickrao Thackre said, “The final decision on the poll alliance has been left at the discretion of the All India Congress Committee. So far, we have not taken any formal position on the alliance.”
Thackre also indicated that the shortlisting exercise undertaken by Pawar was understandable given the situation.
Officially, none of the top NCP leaders wanted to comment on their strategy. A senior minister said on condition of anonymity, “How long can we wait? There is no formal communication from the Congress on pre-poll alliance.”
It is believed that Congress leaders have through Praful Patel, Union civil aviation minister and a Pawar confidant, communicated that the NCP should be ready to settle for less than 100 seats. outright.
At the internal meeting with party workers, Pawar said, “We have to be mentally and physically prepared for any eventuality. Let us go to polls with confidence. No reason to be on the back foot.”
The developments in Congress-NCP have got the BJP worried. It fears the Sena will flex its bargaining powers to keep the BJP on the backfoot. A section within the Sena has been wondering why it should carry the baggage of the BJP. However, the party general secretary Vinod Tawde said, “We are confident about Sena-BJP alliance. There are some disputes over a few seats. It’s just a matter of time before we resolve the differences.”
