Mumbai Congress working president Eknath Gaikwad said they were ready to ally with the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Indicating that a major political realignment could take place before the Maharashtra Assembly elections, newly-appointed Mumbai Congress working president Eknath Gaikwad said they were ready to ally with the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Gaikwad, who is a former two-term Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai, however, said the MNS was yet to approach them with a formal proposal for an alliance. During the Lok Sabha polls, Raj had launched a surrogate campaign for the Congress- NCP by soliciting votes against the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi through his rallies which employed audio-visual presentations to expose their "doublespeak."
This came after attempts by the MNS to reportedly enter into an understanding with the NCP, which was in an alliance with the Congress, came to nought during the Lok Sabha polls. The MNS was eager to get at least one Lok Sabha seat to contest. One reason for the plan falling through was attributed to some leaders from the Congress in Mumbai opposing it on grounds of the likely impact on north Indian voters considering the violent opposition by the MNS to these migrants from northern states.
Though the Shiv Sena and BJP swept 41 of 48 Lok Sabha seats, Congress leaders admit that taking the MNS along for the state Assembly elections will help it gain support from the Marathi-speakers, who have all but deserted the party (Congress).
"I see no problems (in taking the MNS along). But, the party (Congress) has to formulate a policy," said Gaikwad, adding that they were yet to receive a formal proposal from the MNS for an alliance. The Congress was ready to take along all "secular forces" who were anti-BJP and anti-Sangh Parivar in inclination. "We are ready to take along all those who want to fight to uphold democracy and are against the Shiv Sena and the BJP in the state. Our main target is pulling down the BJP from power," Gaikwad claimed.
"There is no untouchability in politics. There was a time when the BJP was treated as such. The history is known to all. However, they (the BJP's previous avatar as the Jan Sangh) were taken along by Jayprakash Narayan (during the Emergency) and later by Sharad Pawar (when he formed the Progressive Democratic Front government in Maharashtra in 1978," said Gaikwad.
Gaikwad attributed the BJP- Shiv Sena's runaway victory in Maharashtra "to the chamatkar (magic) of Narendra Modi's speeches," and the surge of nationalism after the Balakot airstrikes. Gaikwad, who lost the Lok Sabha polls from South Central Mumbai to the Shiv Sena's Rahul Shewale, said while MNS leaders and cadre had campaigned and voted for him, their voters had not done so.
Though the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) is playing a tough bargain, Gaikwad said they were eager to take the front along for an alliance. "Secular forces must not help communal parties directly or indirectly," he sought. The VBA is blamed for eating into the Congress and NCP's votes, leading to its defeat in eight constituencies, including Aurangabad where Imtiaz Jaleel of the All India Majlis E Itehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which had allied with it, won.
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 "Eknath Gaikwad")
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