In Maharashtra,cracks in Cong-NCP alliance

Two days after the Lok Sabha results,cracks have surfaced in the Congress-NCP alliance in Maharashtra....

Two days after the Lok Sabha results,cracks have surfaced in the Congress-NCP alliance in Maharashtra. Spurred by its performance in Uttar Pradesh,the Congress seems to be gearing up to go solo in the Assembly elections. Not to be outdone,the NCP,which suffered a setback in Lok Sabha elections,too would like to go it alone if the situation so warranted.

The murmurs of a probable divorce between the long-time allies took off immediately after the Lok Sabha results were out. And they have become more audible. First it was the Congress which upped the ante for parting ways. And now the NCP too is clearly spelling out that it wont mind if the Congress chooses its own path. It was the Congress performance in Uttar Pradesh which saw a revival in its fortunes that enthused former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and veteran Congress leader Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil,who was the partys campaign chief,to put forth the demand that Congress should break its alliance with the NCP for the Assembly elections.

Yes,I have demanded that the Congress should contest Assembly elections on its own, Deshmukh told this paper on Monday. The former chief minister said,Rahul Gandhi has showed us the way. He has turned the Congress fortunes around in Uttar Pradesh. The party leadership should take a cue from the poll success in Uttar Pradesh and

implement the formula in Maharashtra.

On the other hand,Vikhe-Patil said the Congress should not commit the same mistake which it did in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress should stop this business of alliances. It should seriously think about contesting elections on its own, Patil said. I have already made this recommendation to the party high command, he added.

Reacting to the noises emanating from the Congress,the NCP too seems to be ready to sign on the divorce papers,though grudgingly. NCP chief Sharad Pawars daughter,Supriya Sule,said though her party was keen on continuing the alliance,it wont mind if the Congress breaks away.

We are very keen and serious on continuing with our alliance for the state Assembly elections. But if the Congress wants

to break free,we cant help it, Sule said.

The newly-elected MP from Baramati said the NCP and Congress have shared a healthy relationship at the Centre and the state in the last years and there is no reason why both could not continue in the same spirit.

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Ideally,we would like to continue our alliance with the Congress. But in case we have to contest the elections on our own,we are prepared for that, said Sule,who is among three women MPs elected from Maharashtra.

Out of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra,the Congress has bagged 17 while the NCP has won 8 seats. The Congress contested in 25 seats while the NCP candidates fought from 21 constituencies.