Congress leader Arvind Shinde said the party believes that the Pune seat should remain with it.

EVEN as the Congress and the NCP are trying to stitch up an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls, it seems the Pune Lok Sabha seat will remain the major bone of contention between the two parties with the Pune Congress passing a resolution insisting that the seat should remain with it.

The resolution was passed at a meeting of top Congress leaders from different parts of the city on Saturday. A senior Congress leader said it was passed as the party is going to take a final decision on the Pune seat at its meeting on November 15.

“Party leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge and Ashok Chavan will attend the meeting to take stock of the Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. At the meeting, it is expected that a final decision would be taken regarding the Pune seat,” said a Congress leader.

Congress leader Arvind Shinde said the party believes that the Pune seat should remain with it. “This is because there are some 11 seats in western Maharashtra. Out of which the NCP contests eight and the Congress, three. If Pune seat goes to the NCP and if it demands one more seat, then the Congress’ existence in western Maharashtra will come under threat. Therefore, it is our unanimous view that the Pune seat should remain with the Congress,” he said.

The NCP, however, seems determined to fight it out for the seat. State NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said: “It is Congress’ right to seek the Pune seat. There is nothing wrong in that. But the NCP is also demanding the Pune seat. Nothing has been decided yet. Discussions between the leaders of both parties are underway and they will continue till we arrive at a final decision.”

Malik said the reason as to why the NCP wants to contest the Pune seat is that the party’s strength has grown after the Lok Sabha elections.

“After the Lok Sabha elections, the state Assembly elections were held in six months. The Congress was just ahead by 2,000 votes collectively in all seats. Similarly, in the civic polls, the NCP secured 39 seats while the Congress got eight-nine seats. Therefore, our strength is more than the Congress’,” he said.

A Congress leader, however, said they will fight it out for the Pune seat. “Pune seat traditionally belongs to the Congress and we will do everything to secure it,” he said.

On Saturday, the Congress also sent a list of aspirants to the party leaders. The list includes names of Mohan Joshi, Arvind Shinde, Balasaheb Shivarkar, Abhay Chhajed and Anant Gadgil.

“All are aspirants for the seat.It was decided at the meeting that whoever is picked by the party leadership will get the support from all other aspirants. We will all work unitedly for the party candidate,” a party leader said.

Mohan Joshi, another Congress leader and aspirant for the Lok Sabha polls, said: “The decision to work unitedly for a Congress Lok Sabha candidate is a tremendous development for the party. It is seen that whenever the Congress has remained united, it has emerged victorious. Therefore, the development is not only significant for the Lok Sabha polls, but also for state Assembly polls.

Asked if Suresh Kalmadi’s name was discussed, a Congress leader said till the party withdraws his suspension, his name cannot be discussed.

A section of the Congress, however, feels that if Kalmadi returns to the Congress, it will revive the sinking the party not only in Pune but also send out a strong message among the voters in Maharashtra.