Cong, NCP clash casts dampener

MUMBAI, SEPT 4: It's an irony that beats many others in the political arena that the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party NCP should...

MUMBAI, SEPT 4: It8217;s an irony that beats many others in the political arena that the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party NCP should have come to blows at the fag end of the first phase of campaign, that too, in Wardha which stands for Mahatma Gandhi8217;s message of non-violence. Political observers fear that the clash between workers of the two parties was brought under control but the simmering discontent is likely to manifest itself in the days to come.

Wardha goes to polls on Sunday along as part of the 24 Lok Sabha and 144 assembly constituencies scheduled in the first phase of voting in the State. Region-wise, these include all constituencies in Vidarbha, Marathwada except Jalna and Aurangabad and north Maharashtra except Nashik and Malegaon. The assembly constituencies that will see ballot tomorrow are all segments of the Lok Sabha constituencies in the schedule.

Vidarbha, traditional stronghold of the Congress with the BJP taking away a fair share, is set to witness a fierce contest thistime 8212; not only between the two parties but also between the Congress and Sharad Pawar8217;s NCP. Senior leaders of the NCP believe that Vidarbha is one of the two weak links in the State in that the party has not been able to make as good an impact as it wanted to. This in spite of the fact that two of the best-known MPs from the region 8212; Praful Patel and Datta Meghe 8212; quit the Congress to join Pawar in the aftermath of his expulsion.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi spent nearly two days campaigning in the region earlier this week and party leaders hoped that her well-attended meetings would translate into votes. That8217;s partly why the Wardha incident has come as a blow, of sorts. The Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters here did not issue a statement or offer reaction on the incident but apparently local Congressmen, including former minister and currently candidate Prabha Rau, dismissed it as a last-minute attempt to defame the party on the eve of polling.

The incident occurred when NCP activists wereheaded towards a meeting that was to be addressed by cine star Jackie Shroff. A large group of Congressmen reportedly came from the opposite direction and both groups fought over the right to use the road. Suddenly, stones were thrown at the NCP group and eight people were injured, according to the police. The NCP spokespersons say that the incident will be taken up very seriously.

Among the stalwarts in the fray, whose fate will be decided tomorrow, are: former AICC general secretary Sushil Kumar Shinde, former Lok Sabha speaker Shivraj Patil, Pawar8217;s pointman Praful Patel, industrialist who hopped over to the BJP and returned to the Congress Banwarilal Purohit, all for the Lok Sabha, besides at least five ministers in the outgoing Shiv Sena-BJP government and one Independent minister Anil Deshmukh who recently joined the NCP. Also in the race tomorrow are former chief ministers Sudhakarrao Naik on the NCP ticket and Shivajirao Patil-Nilangekar of the Congress.

Alert in Beed

MUMBAI: The policemachinery and district collector of Renapur, from where Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde is seeking re-election to the State Assembly, have been put on alert following complaints expressing fears of booth-capturing in about 50 polling centres there, according to State8217;s Chief Electoral Officer Dr D K Sankaran today.

Story continues below this ad

8220;Three election observers have been stationed at Renapur in Marathwada region and adequate Central paramilitary forces have also been deployed to prevent any untoward incident,quot; Sankaran told reporters here.

Adequate precautions for free and fair polls in Naxal-infested areas of Gadchiroli, Chandrapaur and Bhandara in Vidarbha region on Maharashtra-Andhra Pradesh border going to polls tomorrow have been taken, he said when his attention was drawn to the today8217;s killing of a senior IPS official in Hyderabad by suspected Naxals.

8220;We take constant review of the situation to ensure that election process is not affected,8221; he said, but refused to divulge the number of deployment of securitypersonnel.