MNS 'in talks' with NCP, but Congress doesn't seem very enthused
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Nationalist Congress Party are in exploratory talks to form a grand alliance in Maharashtra that would also have Congress and other like-minded parties, with the idea to take on a possible Sena-BJP alliance for next year’s Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
The development assumes significance as the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) chief Raju Shetti announced on Monday that his party would be joining the UPA to take up farmers’ issues in the state. Shetti’s party, which was with the NDA, left the fold on a bitter note.
Sensing the disquiet within the NDA, the Congress and NCP have gone on an overdrive to get allies on their side of the fence to challenge the BJP-Sena.
A top MNS official said that his party chief Raj Thackeray and NCP veteran Sharad Pawar recently held talks which were very preliminary in nature. “It is really early days, but from our understanding it seems NCP may not have problems joining us. However, the stand of the Congress has to be taken into account also,” said the MNS leader.
The broad thinking behind the strategy is that a combination of Congress, NCP and MNS could affect the prospects of the BJP-Sena alliance, especially in Mumbai, Thane and other urban areas of Maharashtra. But getting the Congress on board may not be that easy, given that the Congress high command doesn’t endorse MNS’ use of violence against the North Indians in the state, which had happened in the past.
When contacted, Congress leaders said they haven’t heard of the proposal but were sceptical on whether the idea would be approved by the party leadership. The doubt arises from the fact that in the 2017 Mumbai civic elections when no party had the numbers to run the civic body, a section of the Congress leadership in the state had proposed to the party leadership that they could tie up with the Shiv Sena, but the proposal was shot down as it could have affected its image in other states.
Pawar has been talking of a broader coalition to fight the BJP-Sena while Thackeray said in a rally that all parties need to come together to take on the BJP. Interestingly, he said this a day after he had met Pawar at his residence in Mumbai.
The idea of a broad alliance in Maharashtra is centred around the idea that the BJP and Sena would continue with their alliance for next year’s elections, even though the Sena had publicly declared that it would fight the next parliamentary and assembly polls alone. The BJP, however, feels that it would be able to convince its ally to go it along with them.
The development assumes significance as the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) chief Raju Shetti announced on Monday that his party would be joining the UPA to take up farmers’ issues in the state. Shetti’s party, which was with the NDA, left the fold on a bitter note.
Sensing the disquiet within the NDA, the Congress and NCP have gone on an overdrive to get allies on their side of the fence to challenge the BJP-Sena.
A top MNS official said that his party chief Raj Thackeray and NCP veteran Sharad Pawar recently held talks which were very preliminary in nature. “It is really early days, but from our understanding it seems NCP may not have problems joining us. However, the stand of the Congress has to be taken into account also,” said the MNS leader.
The broad thinking behind the strategy is that a combination of Congress, NCP and MNS could affect the prospects of the BJP-Sena alliance, especially in Mumbai, Thane and other urban areas of Maharashtra. But getting the Congress on board may not be that easy, given that the Congress high command doesn’t endorse MNS’ use of violence against the North Indians in the state, which had happened in the past.
When contacted, Congress leaders said they haven’t heard of the proposal but were sceptical on whether the idea would be approved by the party leadership. The doubt arises from the fact that in the 2017 Mumbai civic elections when no party had the numbers to run the civic body, a section of the Congress leadership in the state had proposed to the party leadership that they could tie up with the Shiv Sena, but the proposal was shot down as it could have affected its image in other states.
Pawar has been talking of a broader coalition to fight the BJP-Sena while Thackeray said in a rally that all parties need to come together to take on the BJP. Interestingly, he said this a day after he had met Pawar at his residence in Mumbai.
The idea of a broad alliance in Maharashtra is centred around the idea that the BJP and Sena would continue with their alliance for next year’s elections, even though the Sena had publicly declared that it would fight the next parliamentary and assembly polls alone. The BJP, however, feels that it would be able to convince its ally to go it along with them.