NCP serves 24-hour ultimatum on Congress to make alliance air clear

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar has served a 24-hour ultimatum on the Congress to take a final decision on entering into an alliance with his party for the civic elections.

In a stern message to the Congress, which finds itself divided over the issue, Pawar said: “Why are we wasting time when the poll dates have already been announced? The Congress has to take a final decision on the alliance by Monday evening. Our main concern should be to consolidate our secular votes through a Congress-NCP alliance to defeat the Shiv Sena-BJP combine.”

The NCP chief’s message soon sent top Congress leaders into a tizzy. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan renewed attempts to pacify the section within the Congress which is against an alliance with the NCP.

Senior Congress leaders Manikrao Thakre and Gurudas Kamat are not happy with the NCP’s tough stand over selection of seats. Late evening, both Congress and NCP state leaders told DNA that both sides had already agreed on 52 seats, but the NCP demand for more than 65 seats was the bone of contention.

That NCP is poised for hard bargain was evident when Pawar said, “In 2007, the Congress had promised us 65 seats. At that time, the NCP did not have any member representing Mumbai in the Lok Sabha. In 2009, we got Sanjay Patil elected to the lower house. The Congress should consider the growth of NCP in Mumbai.”

But, the Congress appeared a divided house on Sunday as the section against alliance urged Chavan not to concede more than 55 seats. Finding himself in a tight spot, Chavan sought the help of the central leadership.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary incharge of Maharashtra Mohan Prakash has been asked to tame the anti-alliance leaders to ensure they don’t cross the limits and cast a shadow on the functioning of the DF government. Sources in the AICC told DNA, “Prakash has urged Thakre and Kamat to exercise restrain as seat-sharing negotiations are still open-ended.”

Kamat’s letter to party president Sonia Gandhi, suggesting not to have any alliance with the NCP as it would trigger reactions within the party, has upset the high command. A senior AICC functionary said, “The central leadership feels the onus of breaking an alliance should not rest on the Congress. The central leadership has indicated that seat-sharing talks should continue with sincerity based on ground reality. If they fail to work, the NCP should be answerable to the people and not the Congress.”