The Maharashtra Congress has stepped up its campaign for NCP's merger with it even while insisting that there could be a friendly fight between the two parties in the coming panchayat polls.
MUMBAI: After the drubbing in the urban municipal polls, Maharashtra Congress has stepped up its campaign for NCP's merger with it even while insisting that there could be a friendly fight between the two parties in the coming panchayat polls.
"NCP is our natural ally. They are part of the family, part of Congress. Their main family is Congress. They parted ways, formed their separate party. But after some time, after some years, if they have to return, this is the only party", Chief Minister Deshmukh said.
Stating that the issue which led to formation of NCP has ceased to exist, Deshmukh said the Sharad Pawar-led party would have to eventually merge with Congress.
"This has been the talk at the highest level. When the talk about the merger is at the top level, I hope that something good will come out of it," Deshmukh said.
"There are no ideological differences. They had one issue namely Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin. The issue doesn't exist any more", he said adding "We are running a coalition government in the Centre and in Maharashtra. So NCP is our natural ally."
Asked if there would be a unified Congress in the next assembly elections in Maharashtra, Deshmukh said "Let us hope. I am not a political astrologer'.
About the March 11 elections to 27 zilla parishads and 310 panchayat samitis, where the two parties are vying for dominance of rural Maharashtra, Deshmukh said "we did not force any alliance with NCP at local level in districts".
"We told them to sit together and decide. But for both the parties, alliance is very difficult as there will be a lot of rebels", he said.
"Let there be a friendly fight", he added.
However, Deshmukh hinted at the possibility of the two parties coming together after these elections.
"Just as we are coming together after last month's municipal corporation elections at most of the places, if necessary, naturally we will come together after the March 11 elections", he said.
"This post-poll alliance happened during the last zilla parishad elections in 2002", Deshmukh pointed out.
"That time also I was the Chief Minister. We fought separately but came together later", he said.
"In Mumbai municipal corporation elections of February 1 also, we tried our best for an alliance with NCP. For 10 days we tried. But just over a single ward, we could not have an alliance. Everybody made it a prestige issue", he said.
On merger, he said, "One day the merger will happen", Deshmukh said. Will it be immediate? "It all depends. These decisions are not taken at the state level. They are at the national level", he said.
"Let us hope for the best", Deshmukh said. Asked if it was in the interest of NCP to join Congress, he said it is in everybody's interest.
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