JOIN USCongress missing in action as NCP leaders meet Uddhav to strengthen MVA
While the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena initiated discussion to keep the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra afloat and to contest the upcoming local bodies elections unitedly, the Indian National Congress appeared to be on a different page.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole called the MVA an “unnatural alliance”—mere hours after the Leader of Opposition in Assembly, Ajit Pawar, led a delegation of NCP leaders to meet Thackeray.
“The alliance came into being under certain circumstances. It was not a natural alliance,” Patole said, explaining that the coalition was agreed upon by Congress president Sonia Gandhi for the benefit of the people of the state.
On the other hand, NCP and the Congress expressed their surprise over the Shiv Sena appointing Ambadas Danve as the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Council, without consulting the allied partners.
“In the Council, the Shiv Sena has 12 MLCs and support of one Independent. The Congress and NCP both have 10 members each. The party with maximum seats gets the post. In the Assembly, the NCP has more seats, so we got the post of Leader of Opposition, in Council, the Shiv Sena has more seats, so they have recommended the name (of Danve) and it was accepted...we don’t want to stretch it further,” said Pawar.
State NCP president Jayant Patil said, “If all would have sat together and taken the decision, it would have been better.”
“We expect some coordination on such issues…these things matter,” said veteran Congressman, and former chief minister Ashok Chavan.
The three MVA partners—NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena—were reportedly working together to enhance the floor coordination among the three parties during the August monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature.
Pawar, after meeting with Thackeray, said: “We spoke over phone…after the MVA was toppled. But now we met… We discussed how to take things ahead. There are various issues, the Supreme Court case and so on.”
Pawar also said that Thackeray had agreed in principle to contest the local bodies together. “We will meet again. We would also hold discussions with Congress,” he said.