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NCP's Sharad Pawar terms Maharashtra govt exploring option of mid-term polls as 'pressure tactics'

A BJP core committee meeting was held at Minister Chandrakant Patil's bungalow last week.

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Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Monday termed Maharashtra government exploring the option of mid-term poll as a part of pressure tactics on the part of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Speaking to DNA after 40th annual general meeting of the Vasantdada Sugar Institute at Manjri in Pune, Pawar said that he would not make any comment on the BJP core committee meeting that took place last week to review the prevailing political situation in the state. When asked about possibility of mid-term polls, Pawar said, "My assessment about the news of BJP exploring possibility of mid-term polls is nothing but pressure tactics for obvious reasons."

It was on Thursday evening, soon after the meeting of the state cabinet at the Vidhan Bhavan, that BJP core committee meeting was held at Minister Chandrakant Patil's bungalow. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, ministers Chandrakant Patil, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Vinod Tawde, Pankaja Munde, Girish Bapat and Girish Mahajan were present. The meeting discussed the prevailing political situation and the option of going for mid-term polls in the state. The very reason for the core committee meeting was the everyday criticism of the government by BJP's alliance partner Shiv Sena. 

The meeting also discussed the option of engineering defections in Congress and NCP since most of the ministers informed the meeting they were being contacted by a few MLAs from the Opposition who were eager to join the BJP. The meeting concluded by estimating that there were 29 MLAs from Congress and NCP together who could immediately resign and join BJP. The meeting ascertained that at least 22 out of these 29 MLAs could get re-elected on their own as BJP MLAs so that the party would not require the Shiv Sena's support. 

A minister told DNA that now instead of a government of 123 BJP MLAs, 63 Shiv Sena ​MLAs and others for support, it would be a BJP plus 29 others and Shiv Sena Government. 

Former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has criticised the news of BJP's core committee meeting as pressure tactics by the party and said, "I wonder as to how BJP core committee was held with the entire media, including TV channels outside minister Patil's house. I am also surprised that despite BJP being a disciplined party, the discussions within the core group came out immediately after the meeting. It is obvious that the BJP wants to pressurise Sena by threatening to go for polls."

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