MVA plan B: Cong’s Patole says decision with high command; Sule dismisses speculation on NCP loyalty

“Of course, it bothers us. The secret meetings between Pawars is a matter of concern for the Congress. But I cannot make a final decision on it (MVA). It is the party high command that will decide the future course of action,” Patole told reporters at party headquarters Tilak Bhavan after the flag-hoisting ceremony on Independence Day. Patole further said that the Congress has a clear position that it will join everyone ready to fight the BJP.

Meanwhile, NCP leader and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule Tuesday said she had personally spoken to the key leaders in Congress and Sena (UBT). “Therefore, I don’t think there is any need to worry about us by anyone else,” she said, after hoisting the national flag at NCP headquarters.

Sule said that her father and NCP president Sharad Pawar had clarified his stand about the BJP at a press conference in Sangola in the Solapur district. Pawar had said that he would not join hands with the BJP.

Both the Congress and Sena (UBT) have openly voiced their discontent over the repeated meetings between the Pawars. Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray is likely to speak to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi about the MVA alliance and Pawar’s actions. Patole, who held a meeting with Thackeray and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday for over two-and-a-half hours, has already spoken to Gandhi.

The Congress has asked its observers to travel to all 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra and analyse the ground reality. A report from all these observers will be discussed in the party’s core committee meeting scheduled on August 16 in Mumbai.

The Sena, too, has worked on its constituencies and is ready with the plan to face the elections. Its review of all the constituencies will begin on August 16.