Sena-BJP to try fresh faces

Mumbai, May 15: The Sena-BJP alliance has decided in principle to field maximum number of fresh nominees for the ensuing elections to the...

Mumbai, May 15: The Sena-BJP alliance has decided in principle to field maximum number of fresh nominees for the ensuing elections to the Lok Sabha, indicating a major departure from its existing policy.

8220;By and large our policy was to repeat the maximum number of candidates irrespective of their performance in previous elections. But now we have decided to nominate new candidates, which will certainly help us to improve our performance,8221; senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde told The Indian Express. Besides, there is also a proposal to pitch senior Cabinet members as well as legislators for the mid-term polls, Munde said.

Commenting on the scenario as compared with last year8217;s polls, the Deputy CM said political platforms had changed considerably. In the 1995 assembly elections, Munde recalled, the Sena-BJP alliance had polled 29 per cent of the votes winning 139 of the 288 seats. In the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, though the alliance captured only 10 seats, it had secured 41 percent of the votes polled. 8220;Though the Congress had also polled 41 per cent votes, it won 33 seats because of its RPI and Samajwadi alliances,8221; he said.Now there will be no alliance between Samajwadi Party and the Congress, Munde observed, which makes it favourable for the Saffron alliance to clinch the hustings this time over, sounded the positive Deputy CM.

And, he analysed, if the Congress did tie-up with the RPI, the workers of the RPI at the grass root level are unlikely to accept a Congress alliance. 8220;They feel that RPI should not join hands with the Congress since its president Sonia Gandhi had openly supported the Bihar Governmment responsible for the killing of several Dalits,8221; Munde said.

8220;In view of these events, I feel that it should not be difficult for the alliance to secure 25 to 30 seats,8221; Munde asserted.

Coming to the mood build-up inside the alliance, Munde said there is a marked improvement in relations between the partners. 8220;Since the installation of Narayan Rane as the ChiefMinister, the intra-alliance coordination is better. Now we are taking decisions collectively, which will reflect positively in the vote,8221; he said.

Munde informed the alliance partners have launched a joint poll strategy. 8220;Myself and Rane will be jointly campaigning in the entire State. We have already started our exercise. Our first joint meeting was held at Jalgaon and will follow it with joint meetings at all the divisional head quarters scheduled to be completed this month,8221; he said. Munde revealed that for the first time a joint convention of Shiv Sena and BJP will be held Mumbai on June 5 and 6.

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In addition, a coordination committee comprising the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, School Education Minister Sudhir Joshi and Social Welfare Minister Anna Dange has been set up for effective implementation of the decisions taken by the alliance government.

Munde, in a bid to boost his saffron unity argument, cited that ever since the alliance came to power on March 14, 1995, for the first timehe and the Chief Minister had sustained interactions with the heads of the district units of the Shiv Sena and BJP. This was bolstered by meetings with the legislators, Members of Parliament and Cabinet members, he revealed.On the preparations for the Assembly elections next year, Munde said the alliance had already oiled up its machinery for the purpose. 8220;We have decided in principle to offer support to 25 independents. Either they can contest on BJP or Shiv Sena ticket or can contest as Independents. We will support them,8221; Munde said.