Battle for Pune may damage Cong-NCP ties
With two strong politicians, Sharad Pawar and his former man-Friday Suresh Kalmadi wanting to extend their fiefdoms, and the other parties playing secondary roles, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections may provide a twist to the tale of t...
By Gouri Agtey Athale, TNN |
PUNE: The electoral battle in Pune this time may set the tone for the state���s future politics. With two strong politicians, Sharad Pawar and his former man-Friday Suresh Kalmadi wanting to extend their fiefdoms, and the other parties playing secondary roles, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections may provide a twist to the tale of the NCP- Congress alliance in the state.
The Congress and the NCP, which have no pre-poll alliance, even though they had been ruling the city jointly, have put up 144 candidates each. The BJP and the Shiv Sena have a pre-poll alliance ��� the BJP is contesting 83 seats and the Sena 61. And then there are dissidents and rebels.
Although it appears at first sight that dissidence is least in the Sena, it has to content with Raj Thackeray���s Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena, which has put up over 50 candidates. With no one in a mood to compromise, the RPI and the BSP are also going it solo.
This is expected to have its inevitable impact on the so called secular vote, which will be divided. The BSP has put up candidates in all the 144 wards and its leader, Mayawati, says this is just to register their presence. The RPI (Athavale) has usually partnered the NCP, but not this time.
The RPI Gavai group has just one member in the PMC. NCP leader and Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, who has not canvassed at the civic body level for decades, had kicked off his party���s campaign. And he will be there to conclude it, too.
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The Congress too has decided to leave no stone unturned to woo the masses. It has lined up for electioneering, along with chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Union power minister Sushilkumar Shinde, Union home minister Shivraj Patil, Union minister Renuka Chowdhury and Jyotiraditya Scindia. Mr Scindia may be there to cajole the city���s famed younger generation, which forms a substantial electoral base.Gujarat CM Narendra Modi will represent the national leadership for the BJP in its campaign. The Sena is banking on Uddhav Thackeray to conclude its electioneering, while Raj Thackeray has already addressed a meeting in the city. The Congress, being the largest, is the worst hit by dissidence.
First former mayor Vandana Chavan crossed over to the NCP, and later city president of the Youth Congress Sachin Taware left the party. Angered by the refusal of the leadership to give tickets to 14 of his candidates, he has floated his own front, the Lok Shahi Aghadi. This front will put up 40 candidates against the Congress��� official nominees, two of whom are sitting corporators.
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