After sending teasers to NCP, BJP changes its tune

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena, which were earlier sending teasers to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to withdraw its support to the Congress and forge an alternative government in the state, changed their tune on Wednesday.

The top leadership of the state BJP indicated that while a divided Congress-NCP benefits them, formation of a government with the NCP, along with the Sena, would be prejudicial for them in the long run.

Vinod Tawde, leader of Opposition in the state council, said: “Any prospect of an alliance if the Congress and NCP break will prove detrimental for the BJP. Why should we compromise on short-term gains at the cost of long-term ones?”
BJP leaders in the state want to focus their campaign against scams in the irrigation sector. Several BJP leaders, including leader of Opposition in the state assembly Eknath Khadse and senior MLA Devendra Fadnavis, have undertaken sustained campaigns to expose the financial irregularities of the NCP.
“Our battle is for the 2014 assembly elections,” said senior BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari. “Whether it is the Congress or the NCP, we are not going to lower our guard.”
However, the BJP’s strategy at the Centre is to corner the Congress, and not target the NCP in the coalition. Citing an example, a senior BJP leader said, “In the monsoon session, we chose to focus on the corruption issues related to Congress ministers. Therefore, we gave more significance to the Coalgate, as compared to the CAG report of civil aviation, which was related to former union aviation minister Praful Patel.”