The last of the alliance dramas inched to a close on Tuesday when the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in principle agreed to a pre-poll alliance for the assembly elections. The top leadership of the state Congress and the NCP met for the first time to discuss the seat sharing formula for the 288 assembly constituencies at chief minister Ashok Chavan’s official residence, Varsha, in Malabar Hills.
Senior AICC secretary Mohan Prakash said, “The dispute no longer relates to the arithmetic but is centered on the identification of seats.” The Congress has decided to concede 110 to 115 seats to the NCP. Which means, the Congress will contest between 173 to 178 seats.
Both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and NCP president Sharad Pawar have asked the state leaders to resolve the disputes related to seats, thus making it clear they are not interested to break the partnership. Prakash dismissed the apprehensions expressed in the state Congress over the hard bargaining prowess of the NCP. He said, “Pawar is a senior United Progressive Alliance leader who knows the ground reality in Maharashtra.” The Congress has also proved it is being reasonable with the poll partner, he indicated.
However, the closed door meeting saw leaders vehemently debating for hours to assert their right over seats. Apart from seat division, the Congress has emphasised on setting specific terms and conditions. Highly-placed sources in the party said, “The thrust of a pre-poll alliance should be on adhering to the coalition dharma. There should be greater coordination in the government as well at the party levels.”
