The impressive performance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the assembly elections in Rajasthan and other states have come as a major morale-booster for the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in Maharashtra.
Vinay Sahasrabudhe, RSS ideologue and senior BJP leader, said there was little doubt that the saffron combine would emerge triumphant in most of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in the next year election. He said the outcome was an endorsement of the BJP’s decision to project Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate and also a vote for development and good governance. He said the people of Maharashtra were also yearning for good governance and would back the Sena-BJP alliance. According to him, the Modi magic was in full play in the just-held assembly polls, would be be repeated in the Lok Sabha elections.
Senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde said the results showed that the people were completely disillusioned with the Congress and its allies. He said the days of the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance in Maharashtra were numbered.
He categorically stated that his party would not like to have anything to do with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). “The Shiv Sena-BJP-RPI (Athavale) combination was strong enough to garner an ovewhelming number of seats in the Lok Sabha elections,’’ he added.
Tawde’s statement is significant because some months ago, the state unit of the BJP had toyed with the idea of taking the MNS on board the saffron alliance. Senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari was particularly keen on having a tie-up with the MNS. His reasoning was that the division of anti-Congress and anti-NCP votes should be avoided at all costs.
Tawde said there was no possibility of a third force emerging in Maharashtra. “Anna Hazare did try to form a third force, but he failed miserably,” he added.
Nawab Malik, NCP spokesperson, attributed the comprehensive defeat of the Congress to inflation. Sources close to NCP said the party was of the opinion that the ruling coalition will have a tough time in the LS polls if chief minister Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress does not change his style of functioning. “We need quick decision-making in Mantralaya,’’ said an NCP leader.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar himself has publicly expressed his dismay over the slow movement of files in Mantralaya. Chavan, however, had stated that in an era of RTI and PIL it would be better to take decisions after careful consideration of all pros and cons. NCP working president, Jitendra Awhad, however, said Sunday’s results would have no impact on Maharashtra politics. He said the Congress-NCP combine would secure a majority of the 48 LS seats in the state.
Sanyal to fight on AAP ticket
Associated with the Royal Bank of Scotland, Meera Sanyal, who was an independent candidate in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections is likely to contest next year’s general election on an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket. Sanyal, had recently announced her decision to quit the bank for a full-time career in politics.
Sanyal has been campaigning for the AAP in the Delhi. AAP was the showstopper this election by winning 28 seats from the 70-member assembly. Sanyal said, “I will be resigning from my job in a few days. I have been actively campaigning for the AAP. I cannot join a party while being part of a corporate world, I would be doing so, once I quit on December 31.” Sanyal had lost against Milind Deora from the south Mumbai constituency in the previous general election.
—Ashutosh Shukla
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