Maha Vikas Aghadi set to nip third front plot; to earn new allies

Even while NCP chief Sharad Pawar keeps galleries guessing and confused on his political relationship with his nephew Ajit Pawar, he and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena are set to turn a regional front of 13 smaller parties into allies of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, it is learnt. The development comes ahead of the INDIA bloc meeting in Mumbai from Thursday, which will be co-hosted by the Sena faction and NCP.

People involved in talks said the Pragatik Vikas Manch (PVM) of 13 parties has agreed to join hands with MVA against BJP following talks between leaders of respective sides. PVM could also be represented at the INDIA meet by Jayant Prabhakar Patil, leader of the Peasants and Workers Party, one of its key constituents. Patil and Raju Shetti of Swabhimani Paksha are the leading lights of PVM, which include Lal Nishan Party, Republican Party of India (S), SP, Left parties and BRSP.

The development assumes significance as the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi leadership had recently tried to rope in PVM to launch a 'Third Front' in Maharashtra, which Opposition circles suspect has the blessings of BJP to divide the anti-BJP vote in Maharashtra. After the dramatic splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP created an unprecedented churning in the traditional political turf in Maharashtra, BJP and MVA are working on strategic tie-ups to reinforce their coalitions before elections. MVA's reach out to PVM is seen in this context as the latter is considered to have pockets of influence in Kolhapur, Sangli, Solapur and Raigarh districts, where MVA and NDA are locked in a close race. The MVA-PVM tie-up also means seat-sharing talks for the next LS and assembly polls. Maharashtra has 48 LS seats, the highest after UP's 80.


Northeast exploration
Opposition allies are exploring the possibility of persuading parties from the northeast to attend the Mumbai meeting to showcase the front's 'growth', following reservation of the parties in continuing with their alliance with BJP after the Manipur violence.