Rift in DF forces multi-cornered contests for two Council seats

Reacting sharply to the announcement made by the State Congress leadership at Mumbai, State NCP president Babanrao Pachpute said his party was now free to contest these two seats from Vidarbha and three other seats in other parts of the State on its own. Pachpute, who was in the city to attend a convention organised by the party’s city unit, was highly critical of the State Congress leaders. He alleged that they played a negative role, which led to the Front partners failing to reach an understanding.

Pachpute argued that since the NCP holds four out of five seats that are scheduled to go to polls next month, it has the rightful claim to contest these seats. Even then, party chief, Sharad Pawar, agreed to leave two out of five seats to the Front partner in order to reach an amicable settlement. But the State Congress leader remained unreasonable, he alleged, saying that they were to be blamed for forcing multi-cornered contests.

The DF partners together enjoyed a comfortable position in both the seats in the region. They could have easily reached an agreement by sticking to the formula which is usually accepted by the coalition partners. In coalition politics, parties stick to the seats held by them. No party claims the seats held by the partners. In this case, the Congress could have contested the Amravati seat from where Wasudha Deshmukh was elected last time. Deshmukh, who successfully contested the State Assembly election from Achalpur in September last year, vacated her council seats. The Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli seat could have been left for the NCP since the seat was held by Ramdas Tadas, who was elected as an Independent but joined the NCP along with Datta Meghe and others.

With the ruling DF partners remaining divided, the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance could have given a tough fight. But the saffron alliance is equally sharply divided. BJP’s Vidarbha regional unit organiser Arvind Shahapurkar had indicated that his party would contest both seats. Enraged by his unilateral announcement, the Sena dispatched its State leaders to this region to identify suitable candidates.

The sharp divisions between the rival alliances have promised an interesting multi-cornered contest, with independent members of local bodies holding the key. All major parties are expected to field their candidates on Tuesday, which is the last date for filing of nominations. A clear picture is expected to emerge only after the withdrawal of nominations on May 31.