Cong leadership in state wants party to fight 2009 Lok Sabha elections on its own
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Prabha Rau doesn’t want coalition politics. She has said Congress should contest the 2009 polls alone because NCP cannot be trusted as a loyal partner.
And she has found a supporter in AICC general secretary Margaret Alva. Rau’s decision is based on the overwhelming response from party workers across the state who feel cheated by the political wizardry of NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, though, is silent on the matter. “If Congress-NCP alliance is broken, it will split the secular vote and benefit the Shiv Sena-BJP combine,” said one of his close aides. “Moreover, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will affect Congress more than NCP or Sena-BJP.”
But Rau and Alva’s tirade against Pawar has upset NCP leaders. State NCP chief Arun Gujarathi said, “For once Rau should take a definite decision. It does not auger well for coalition politics when Rau accuses NCP of betraying the coalition dharma. She should cite at least one example where NCP has betrayed them. I can show four where Congress has done it.
“In any case, the final decisions are taken by the Delhi bosses. I would like to know if Sonia Gandhi wants to do away with the coalition. Or is it Rau who will decide everything? And we would like to hear the chief minister speak on this because he is heading the DF government in state.”
At the NCP’s national executive last month, Pawar stressed on continuing the ties with Congress to fight communal forces in the next elections. He had urged party workers to strengthen the Congress-NCP alliance at local levels.
A MPCC general secretary said Rau was just reflecting the general mood within the party. “She is trying to prepare the grounds for a hard bargain if the central leadership wants to continue with the alliance,” he said.
