The acrimony between longtime allies — the Congress and the NCP — threatens to assume alarming proportions following the UPA partners’ dismal performance in Maharashtra in the lok Sabha polls. The Congress on Friday publicly accused the NCP of conspiring against its candidates to ensure their defeat.
The Congress’ accusation follows with the NCP holding the Congress leadership and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh responsible for the rout in the lok Sabha elections. Further, in an indication of the widening rift between the two allies, the NCP pitched for more seats in the Assembly polls due this year in Maharashtra.
Union Minister Praful Patel had attributed the loss to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s failure to assert himself and “complete breakdown” of political dialogue between the Congress and its allies led to the rout. “It looked as if it was a Congress Government and not a UPA Government. The political discourse that was there in UPA I was missing in UPA II. The PM was not seen for two months and it was Rahul who led the campaign,” Patel said.
Maharashtra Industries Minister and senior Congress leader Narayan Rane on Friday alleged that the NCP “conspired” against the Congress candidates in the lS polls.
Talking to reporters here after a review meeting of Maharashtra Congress, Rane said, “The NCP often did not cooperate with the Congress which hatched conspiracies to defeat the Congress candidates. I am aggrieved because despite the good work done by Nilesh (Rane’s son), he lost from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg,” Rane said, adding that his grievances were not addressed by the party.
Meanwhile, at its brainstorming session to identify reasons for the loss and devise strategy to win in the Assembly polls, NCP chief Sharad Pawar made a pitch for his party getting more seats as part of the seat-sharing arrangement on the strength of its better performance in the lok Sabha polls.
“last time, when we got fewer seats than the Congress in the lS polls, they said they should get more Assembly seats to contest. We should remember it this time when we sit to discuss seat-sharing,” Pawar said, addressing the meeting of party functionaries.Maharashtra Pradesh Congress chief Manikrao Thakre said the NCP should stake claim to more seats during the coordination committee meet of both parties rather than speak about it to the media.
The NCP was a key constituent of the Congress-led UPA I and II and has been running the Democratic Front Government in Maharashtra as a junior partner of the Congress for the last 15 years. In 2009, the NCP had contested 114 seats and the Congress 174 in the 288-member House.In the recently-concluded lS polls, the NCP contested 21 seats and won four, while the Congress managed to clinch just two of the 27 seats it fought, the worst-ever show by the party.