State JD to go to polls united — Dandawate

MUMBAI, July 23: Irrespective of the political developments at the national level, the Janata Dal's Maharashtra unit will contest the gen...

MUMBAI, July 23: Irrespective of the political developments at the national level, the Janata Dal’s Maharashtra unit will contest the general elections as one entity, senior Janata Dal leader Madhu Dandawate announced here on Friday.

Addressing a press meet, Dandawate blamed the party’s national leaders for changing their stand overnight. “Sharad Yadav and J H Patel had said that the party will keep itself equidistant from the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Today, they have changed stance. No one is sure where I K Gujral is headed for and I hope he clears his stand at the earliest. But all these developments will not impede the JD from being a united party in Maharashtra. We will contest the elections on merits,” he said.

He added that various like-minded parties will join hands with the JD to fight the Sena-BJP alliance.

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Dandawate also gave indications of contesting the Lok Sabha polls from the Rajapur constituency, supposed to be his stronghold, but the seat to which he had lost in the last elections.

State JD chief and former MLA Nihal Ahmed said that the JD, Communist Party of India (CPI), Peasants’ and Workers’ Party (PWP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) in the state will form a Forward Democratic Front for the general elections. The Front will “fully support” Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party, he said.

The Front will also contest some Lok Sabha seats in the State. “We are fortunate not to have any national level leaders with us here. The political developments in JD in New Delhi will not have any effect in Maharashtra. We have decided to form the Forward Democratic Front to fight the Sena-BJP alliance. The Front will have a formal tie with the NCP for the general elections,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed said that the Front leaders will have talks with Pawar for sharing Assembly seats on July 25, 1999. He said that all factions of the Front will have a flexible approach towards sharing of seats.

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Senior JD leader Mrinal Gore said that the Front will help Pawar to oust the Sena-BJP alliance. “The citizens are tired of extortion and corruption of the alliance government. We are not strong enough to fight on our own and hence, have decided to support Pawar. I am confident that the Front will be able to control the NCP,” said Gore.

Earlier in the day, JD activists dropped the plan of burning effigies of JD’s national leaders after Dandawate appealed them to maintain calm.

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