Mumbai, Agency
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is expected to speak to Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge as well as Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, to pitch a Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance with the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), to fight the local civic body polls in Maharashtra, scheduled to begin on December 2, sources said here today.
However, senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar told media persons here today that their party will contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections "on its own". To add to the confusion, local Nashik district Congress leader Rahul Dive told media persons at a Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) press conference in Nashik today that "We have been given instructions by senior Congress leaders to take decisions at the local level. So we have decided to join hands with the Raj Thackeray-led MNS. We will brief our senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat about the decision and follow the order of the party high command."
Yet, Maharashtra state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant in Mumbai, promptly denied that his party had taken any final decision to align with the Raj Thackeray-led MNS in Nashik.
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said in Mumbai, "Our Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) leaders have decided that we will fight the local civic polls independently. The decision has been taken at the local level after discussing with the high command. We always get 30 to 35 seats in the BMC. The three parties of the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance are also fighting separately."
"However, if there is any proposal from like-minded parties, we will consider it. If Uddhav Thackeray is forming an alliance with MNS and a proposal for an alliance comes, we will discuss it with our local leaders and decide. What should we do if MNS and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena form an alliance and then Uddhav Thackeray comes up with a proposal? Mumbai Congress will consider that proposal. We will also consider Sharad Pawar's proposal. However, we have decided that Congress will contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation poll on its own," Wadettiwar explained.
According to sources, there are two lines of thought within the Congress. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshwardhan Sapkal and Mumbai Congress leader Bhai Jagtap are opposed to allying with the Raj Thackeray-led MNS. They are concerned that any alliance of the Congress-led MVA with the Raj Thackeray-led MNS could jeopardise a large number of votes by North Indians and Muslims in many pockets, since Raj Thackeray has taken positions seen as anti-North Indian and anti-Muslim in the past.
Harshwardhan Sapkal's public stand has always been, “Any decision on MNS will be taken in Delhi by the party high command. The Congress leads the INDIA bloc nationally.”
Meanwhile, sources said that MPCC president Harshwardhan Sapkal has already advised All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Ramesh Chennithala, who looks after the Maharashtra affairs of the Congress for the Congress high command, against any alliance with the Raj Thackeray-led MNS.
Significantly, there is also another line of thought within the Congress in Maharashtra, which is more "pragmatic" and this faction is led by senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat who attended the recent anti-Election Commission protest rally along with MNS chief Raj Thackeray, after MPCC chief Sapkal kept away from the rally.
Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat is sympathetic to the position taken by NCP founder Sharad Pawar who is likely to try and persuade the Congress high command in Delhi to ally with the Raj Thackeray-led MNS.
"If a good alternative emerges through consensus in MVA, the Congress should not take an extreme stance on the inclusion of MNS and should think about it,” Sharad Pawar, who is the main architect of the Congress-led MVA, had stated recently.
What is being discussed in political circles is that whether Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will manage to convince Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge as well as Rahul Gandhi about the merits of a Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MVA-MNS) alliance to fight the local civic body polls in Maharashtra.
Also being discussed is that if the Congress high command and local Congress leaders like the ones who announced a tie up with the MNS in Nashik on Monday manage to come out on top, how long will it take for Congress leaders like Harshwardhan Sapkal and Bhai Jagtap who are presently opposed to any alliance with Raj Thackeray's MNS, to fall in line and obey the Congress high command.
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