The question is being raised in political circles because Patil’s visit to Mumbai has not only been postponed twice but remained uncertain
Is the Congress presidential candidate Pratibha Patil avoiding a personal meeting with Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray at Matoshree? The question is being raised in political circles because Patil’s visit to Mumbai to campaign with party MLAs/MPs has not only been postponed twice but remained uncertain till Monday night. Neither the chief minister office nor the state Congress was in a position to confirm her visit to Mumbai.
Party spokesperson Hussain Dalwai said, “Patil’s visit on July 9 was postponed because former prime minister Chandra Shekhar passed away. On July 18 there is a UPA MP’s meeting in Delhi, which makes it difficult for Patil to attend Mumbai meet. We don’t have to introduce her to the members.”
What remained unexplained by the Congress are the reasons to postpone the July 16 and July 17 meeting with Patil. A Congress general secretary said, “After Shiv Sena decided to support Patil, the minorities were not pleased with the hype created in the party.”
A delegation called upon the state leadership arguing they should not be seen closely associating with Sena. The party was forced to explain that nobody from the Congress sought Sena’s support, only prime minister Manmohan Singh and Patil approached all parties including Sena.
Sensing the compulsion to seek Sena’s 21,000 votes, Congress leaders decided to put off Patil visit. Officials in the Congress admit, “ If Patil were to come to Mumbai to meet Congress-NCP members, she would have had to give a courtesy call to Matoshree to thank Thackeray for his party support.” As a middle path the Congress has decided that Patil’s thanks to Thackeray over telephone should be enough for the moment.
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