Maha forces may realign after civic polls
The process of political realignment could begin in Maharashtra after the 10 municipal corporation elections, including the prestigious Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
The main Opposition Shiv Sena-BJP combine will be compelled to review its strategy and take corrective steps if the Congress-NCP combine wins these elections.
The saffron combine and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackeray have not emerged as an alternative to the Congress-NCP combine, which has been ruling the state since 1999.
The Shiv Sena-BJP have allied with the RPI faction led by Ramdas Athawale to make a dent in the Congress-NCP’s dalit support base. But the Congress and the NCP foiled this strategy by moving closer the BRP led by Prakash Ambedkar and other RPI factions led by Rajendra Gavai and Jogendra Kawade. The BRP and the RPI factions have allied with the Congress and the NCP in some municipal corporation elections.
“If the Shiv Sena-BJP gets defeated and the trend shows they will lose the battle, then our next objective is to fight the 2014 state Assembly polls on our own,” said a senior Congress MP on Tuesday.
The current mood in the Congress is of going it alone.
Insiders observed that the NCP has not been able to gain the confidence of minority dalits and even urban areas. This was shown in the last Lok Sabha and the state Assembly elections.
The Congress wants to get political mileage out of Mr Rahul Gandhi and Ms Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s charisma. They have revived the party in Uttar Pradesh and will give a tough fight to the BJP in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, going to polls next year with Rajasthan and Delhi.
The Congress has won more seats in the Maharashtra Assembly than the NCP because of its strong support base among minorities, dalits and other communities in rural and urban areas. Though a section of the Congress believes the NCP will not ally with the Shiv Sena-BJP-RPI to get the CM post because it is sharing power at the Centre, it is unsure of how long the NCP likes to be a junior partner of the Congress in Maharashtra.
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