NCP,Cong spar over standing panel chief post

As per the agreement between NCP leader Ajit Pawar and Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi,mayor’s post was to stay with NCP for two years,while Congress was to hold deputy mayor’s post and education board chairman’s post. The standing committee chairman’s post was to be shared by both the parties. Currently,NCP’s Mohansingh Rajpal holds the mayoral post while Arvind Shinde of the Congress is the standing committee chairman.

However,Congress today said since the mayor’s post is with the NCP,it wants to retain the standing committe chairman’s post. NCP leaders said the arrangement was that the standing committee chairman’s post would be held alternately by both parties.

“Now,the post should go to us as the Congress has held it for one year,” said NCP spokesperson Ankush Kakade. Congress city unit president Abhay Chhajed said the Congress wanted to retain the standing committee’s post as the NCP was holding the mayoral post. “Senior leaders of both the parties would sort out the differences,” said Chhahed. Echoing the views,Kakde denied the theory that there were serious differences between both the parties.

The BJP and Shiv Sena too are at loggerheads. BJP’s Ganesh Bidkar filed the nomination papers which were not seconded by the Shiv Sena as it claimed that the party had the right to fight the poll this time. The standing committee has 16 members with Congress and NCP each having five members while BJP has three,Shiv Sena two and MNS one. Political observers said anything can happen in the standing committee election as realignment of forces cannot be ruled out — a fact vouched by Chhajed.