Bhiwadi, Sangli tussle strains MVA alliance

The tussle for the Bhiwandi and Sangli constituency seats has caused some strain within the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance with state Congress chief Nana Patole warning the Uddhav Thackeray Sena and Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party faction that if they do not follow the coalition dharma, then the Congress cadres would be upset.

"Sangli is not like Vidarbha. There, we created a favourable situation for you (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) to win even though they did have candidates. However, Sangli and Bhiwandi are different. If the top leadership (UBT and NCP-Pawar) do not follow the coalition dharma, there could be repercussions in this region as the cadres are upset," Patole said on Friday.

Patole was pointing to the Congress' anger over both the UBT and NCP-Pawar unilaterally putting up candidates even before the seat-sharing discussions got over. The Congress had wanted to contest on these seats.


The signs of discord were clearly visible in Sangli and other constituencies. On Friday, when UBT Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut went to campaign for Chandrahar Patil, who is their candidate in Sangli, the Congress leaders were not present to receive him or campaign along with the UBT candidate.