With the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) hinting at the possibility of fielding some of its senior Ministers, including deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, in the forthcoming lok Sabha polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday announced that it would put up its candidates against all the tainted NCP Ministers.
Hours after State NCP president Bhaskar Jadhav revealed that several of his party’s senior Ministers, including Ajit Pawar, had expressed their willingness to contest the lok Sabha polls, the AAP unveiled its plans to take the ruling NCP, especially its tainted Ministers head-on, in the forthcoming lok Sabha polls.
Reacting to indications emanating from the State NCP headquarters that it would field Ajit Pawar and some other tainted Ministers in the lok Sabha polls, AAP’s Maharashtra convenor Anjali Damania said: “We have been hearing the names of several tainted Ministers as being the NCP’s probable lok Sabha poll candidates. That being the case, we have decided to field AAP candidates against each of the tainted NCP Ministers.”
The AAP’s statement came a day after NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s exhortation to his party cadres not to get disheartened or lose hope over the Arvind Kejriwal-led party’s recent superlative showing in the Delhi Assembly polls, which the Maratha leader had described as ‘a mere accident’ that was unlikely to repeat itself in other parts of the country.
The AAP, which played a key role in exposing the tainted NCP Ministers involved in the multi-thousand irrigation scam over the past one year, is planning to make the irrigation scam a major plank in the lS polls.
So much so that the AAP has already thrown sufficient hints that it would field retired State water resource department officer and whistleblower of the multi-thousand irrigation crore scam Vijay Pandhare, who joined the Arvind Kejriwal-led party last month, from Nashik constituency.
Meanwhile, there is considerable pre-poll activity within the NCP which not only wants to shore up its eroded image, but also wants to double its winning tally of 8 seats in the 2009 lok Sabha polls.
While it is firm on contesting 22 out of the total 48 seats, the NCP is open to swapping few constituencies with its senior alliance partner, the Congress which would contest the remaining 26 seats.
Having realised that it would not perform well in the lS polls unless it fielded its established players, the NCP has decided to field senior State Ministers as its candidates in the polls.
Among the names that are making rounds: PWD Minister Chhagan Bhujbal (from Nashik), Water Resources Minister Sunil Tatkare (from Raigad) former deputy CM Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil (from Madha - a constituency that is currently represented by Sharad Pawar). The NCP will re-nominate Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule from Baramati.