Maharashtra Congress chief Manikrao Thakre is trying hard to get a second term ahead of the local body elections, including the key Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
The state is gearing up for a mini-Assembly election with 10 municipal corporations, 27 zila parishads and about 180 municipal councils going to the polls in the next 12 months. This could test the government’s performance and the mood of people. Mr Thakre on Friday met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and apprised her of the ground-level situation in the state.
The Congress is yet to take a decision on whether or not to fight the local body polls in alliance with the NCP. A section of the party views that a decision in this regard should be left to the local units instead of imposing it. But others view that a pre-poll alliance with the Sharad Pawar-led party could damage the Congress in the long run.
The Congress had performed well in Mumbai in the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha and the state Assembly elections but lost the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election against the Shiv Sena-BJP combine.
Though division in the Opposition has been the Congress-NCP alliance, the ruling partners too are not strong enough to form a government on its own. The Shiv Sena, BJP and the MNS are seen as urban parties lacking any base among minorities and dalits. Western Maharashtra and north Maharashtra are seen as the NCP’s strongholds. The Congress is everywhere but has not been able to make dent in the strongholds of the Shiv Sena-BJP combine outside Mumbai and the NCP. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has a clean image. His focus is on transparency in the governance and administration. The coming local body elections would be a test whether he can convert clean administration into votes.