Will BJP, NCP join hands after Maharashtra polls? NEW DELHI: The Congress-NCP split on Thursday brought an end to an uneasy alliance that saw them bicker incessantly but stick together through 15 years. If Congress sources are to be believed, humbled by the rout of UPA in Maharashtra in LS polls, the NCP offered to merge with the parent outfit. The offer was discussed at the highest level before being withdrawn as much because of resistance from the Maharashtra unit as the delay in clinching it saw the sense of shock wear off. There is something remarkable about the Maharashtra developments. From the very beginning, the BJP leadership had appeared confident that its divorce with Sena will also put an end to the Congress-NCP tie-up and lead to a five-cornered contest in the state. It made the BJP take the critical call on ending the Sena alliance. The NCP calibrated its move to the tensions in the saffron bloc and steeled its posture once a collapse of Sena-BJP ties appeared inevitable. It is to be seen if this would lead to political realignments. BJP would like to enter the fray as the genuine challenger and Amit Shahs attack on Sharad Pawar at Kolhapur last week showed that it would not want its credentials to be undermined. But a five-cornered contest can create possibilities that the practitioners of realpolitik may be loath to let go of, especially if the past is anything to go by. It was Pawars rebellion against the central leadership in 1995 which cleared the way for the saffron alliances maiden victory. Pawar reportedly encouraged his people to take the field as independents when denied Congress tickets. Many of these independents won at the expense of the official nominees and, later, helped Sena-BJP form the government. Pawar also shared a close relationship with former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, being nominated vice-chairman of the national committee on disaster management. Vajpayee was also keen on a tie-up with NCP and the latters revolt against Congress over Sonia Gandhis foreign origin appeared to reciprocate the sentiment. The alliance did not materialize because an influential section in Maharashtra unit of BJP did not want to offend Sena. Unlike this time, the central leadership relented then, much to the abiding regret of Vajpayee and many others in the party who felt that the course of the 2004 polls would have been different had they preferred Pawar over Sena.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 02:06:03 +0000
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