As the saffron flag flutters atop Bangalore’s Vidhan Soudha, Congress leaders in Maharashtra are trying to figure out what went wrong.
The Democratic Front government in the state is set for a turbulent year ahead with the BJP winning first Gujarat and now Karnataka, reports Shubhangi Khapre
As the saffron flag flutters atop Bangalore’s Vidhan Soudha, Congress leaders in Maharashtra are trying to figure out what went wrong. The loss of face for the party in Karnataka is giving the jitters to the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC). With assembly elections in Maharashtra slated for next October, the Congress-NCP Democratic Front government has little time to get its act together. The debacle in Karnataka may just have set the stage for a course correction — in government as well as the organisation. Senior Congress leader Patangrao Kadam said, “The party will have to take some tough decisions. Time is running out.”
A party source said state cabinet ministers have started mounting pressure on the All India Congress Committee (AICC) to change the leadership in Maharashtra. Observers from the AICC are expected to arrive soon and assess the political situation here. Union power minister Sushilkumar Shinde has for long been seen as the likely replacement for chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, in case party president Sonia Gandhi decides to dump the latter. Shinde, who was the state’s first Dalit chief minister, is expected to help the party counter the threat of the Bahujan Samaj Party and retain its hold on dalit and minority votes.
State revenue minister Narayan Rane has so far maintained a stoic silence. But insiders say Lalsingh Rathod (ex-MLC) and local politician Deepak Malhotra are lobbying with the AICC on his behalf.
The conflict within the Congress coupled with its not-so-impressive performance in government could spell trouble for both the NCP and the Congress.
With MPCC chief Prabha Rau being considered for a governor’s posting, organisational work within the Congress has come to a standstill, a fact that is demonstrated by the deserted Tilak Bhavan, the state party headquarters at Elphinstone Road.
Even as the party high command mulls over a change in leadership in the state, not all are convinced that it will help the party to score in the next election. “The party sent SM Krishna to Karnataka but in vain. What is the guarantee that a change of guard in Maharashtra will click in 2009?” says a senior AICC general secretary on condition of anonymity. Many believe Deshmukh is the best bet for the Congress as its most powerful Maratha face. Moreover, say insiders, “Shinde is reluctant to shoulder the state elections for a second time.”
As if the lethargy in the party weren’t enough, grassroots workers in Congress are wary of the alliance with the NCP. They claim that there are several instances in which the NCP has behaved in a high-handed manner and betrayed the party in local body elections. Energy minister Dilip Walse Patil of the NCP is candid. “Our strategy is to emerge as the number one party in the state,” he says. “We have plans ready.”
But on the surface both the NCP and the Congress are making sure that cracks don’t appear in the alliance. NCP president and Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar says, “We are very clear about our alliance with the Congress in the coming elections. Our goal is to arrest the growth of communal forces in the state as well as at the Centre.”
While the NCP has started identifying its strongholds after delimitation of the constituencies, the MPCC is yet to get its act together. The emotive issues raked up by the Shiv Sena and the MNS have left the Congress looking for answers. The party cannot afford to antagonise the Marathi manus (40%) as well as the sizeable North Indian population, which has always voted for the party in the state. At the same time, state Congress general secretary Nitin Raut says, “We should not waver on our traditional vote bank. We will go the extra mile to keep the Dalits (10.5%) and Muslims (14%) intact.”
What queers the pitch for the Congress-NCP alliance is that both are vying for the same voters. As a Congress politician remarks, “We earn and deposit money in the bank and NCP walks away with the interest.”
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