18 parties form grand alliance in Maharashtra
Leaders of 18 parties on Friday came together to float the Republican Left Democratic Front (RLDF), with the aim of entering the electoral fray from a common platform.
By ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: In a development that could spell trouble for the ruling Congress-NCP combine in Maharashtra, outfits such as the reunited Republican Party of India, CPM, CPI, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (Secular), Lok Janshakti Party, Peasants and Workers Party and the Shetkari Sangathana have joined hands to contest the forthcoming assembly polls under one banner.
Leaders of 18 parties on Friday came together to float the Republican Left Democratic Front (RLDF), with the aim of entering the electoral fray from a common platform. It���s learnt that the new forum has finalised seat-sharing talks for some 250 of the 288 assembly seats, with the RPI, which has seen all its five factions burying their differences and coming together again, walking away with a lion���s share of around 150 seats.
While the SP has been allotted 30 seats, the CPM and the CPI will be allowed to field their candidates from 18 seats each. The JD(S) has been earmarked 20 constituencies in the state.
The Congress-NCP has been watching with keen interest the signals emanating from the ���Third Front��� camp. All these 18 parties under a common platform can only complicate matters for the ruling alliance. A reunified RPI, with its hold among the state���s substantial Dalit population, has the potential of emerging as a force to reckon with in Maharashtra politics.
Together with outfits such as the SP, Left, PWP and the JD(S), the RPI would be vying for the ���secular��� space, and this has sent alarm bells ringing in the Congress-NCP camp. They can only draw comfort from the fact that the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance faces a similar threat from Mr Raj Thackeray���s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), as was evident from the results of the Lok Sabha polls in the state. The presence of MNS candidates spelt doom for the saffron alliance in a few seats, especially in an around Mumbai.
As of now, the RLDF experiment is being confined to Maharashtra. The combine���s fate would be dependent on the assembly poll verdict. If it fares well, then the exercise could be replicated in other states.
The Samajwadi Party���s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Mr Shailendra Kumar told a news agency that his party's understanding with other constituents of the front was only for the Maharashtra polls.
���Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav had authorised the SP���s state unit chief, Mr Abu Asim Azmi to hold meetings with other parties of the alliance. The understanding is only for Maharashtra polls. The future of the alliance will depend on the outcome of the polls,��� he contended���a point which was endorsed by JD(S) boss and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda. ���It���s only a local understanding for Maharashtra,��� he said, adding the partners had not even discussed any possibility of extending the alliance beyond the state as of now.
All the RLDF constituents are concentrating their energies and resources only in those areas of Maharashtra where they wield pockets of influence and if the alliance manages to win a significant number of seats, then its aim would be to remain politically relevant in the post-poll scenario in that state.
Leaders of 18 parties on Friday came together to float the Republican Left Democratic Front (RLDF), with the aim of entering the electoral fray from a common platform. It���s learnt that the new forum has finalised seat-sharing talks for some 250 of the 288 assembly seats, with the RPI, which has seen all its five factions burying their differences and coming together again, walking away with a lion���s share of around 150 seats.
While the SP has been allotted 30 seats, the CPM and the CPI will be allowed to field their candidates from 18 seats each. The JD(S) has been earmarked 20 constituencies in the state.
The Congress-NCP has been watching with keen interest the signals emanating from the ���Third Front��� camp. All these 18 parties under a common platform can only complicate matters for the ruling alliance. A reunified RPI, with its hold among the state���s substantial Dalit population, has the potential of emerging as a force to reckon with in Maharashtra politics.
Together with outfits such as the SP, Left, PWP and the JD(S), the RPI would be vying for the ���secular��� space, and this has sent alarm bells ringing in the Congress-NCP camp. They can only draw comfort from the fact that the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance faces a similar threat from Mr Raj Thackeray���s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), as was evident from the results of the Lok Sabha polls in the state. The presence of MNS candidates spelt doom for the saffron alliance in a few seats, especially in an around Mumbai.
As of now, the RLDF experiment is being confined to Maharashtra. The combine���s fate would be dependent on the assembly poll verdict. If it fares well, then the exercise could be replicated in other states.
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The Samajwadi Party���s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Mr Shailendra Kumar told a news agency that his party's understanding with other constituents of the front was only for the Maharashtra polls.
���Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav had authorised the SP���s state unit chief, Mr Abu Asim Azmi to hold meetings with other parties of the alliance. The understanding is only for Maharashtra polls. The future of the alliance will depend on the outcome of the polls,��� he contended���a point which was endorsed by JD(S) boss and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda. ���It���s only a local understanding for Maharashtra,��� he said, adding the partners had not even discussed any possibility of extending the alliance beyond the state as of now.
All the RLDF constituents are concentrating their energies and resources only in those areas of Maharashtra where they wield pockets of influence and if the alliance manages to win a significant number of seats, then its aim would be to remain politically relevant in the post-poll scenario in that state.
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