In a significant political initiative aimed at keeping his party’s alliance with the Congress intact in coastal Konkan region, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday crushed a major rebellion within his own party ranks in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg lok Sabha constituency and reiterated his party’s support to senior Congress leader Narayan Rane’s son and sitting party MP Nilesh Rane.
On a day, when 400-odd party office bearers and key functionaries opposing Narayan Rane on his home turf of Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency boycotted a joint rally of ruling Congress-NCP alliance for Nilesh, Pawar reined in the rebellion within his party ranks, by replacing three leaders, including district party president, and issuing show-cause to a sitting party MlA from Sawantwadi Deepak Kesarkar for his alleged party indiscipline.
As part of the disciplinary action, the NCP replaced its district NCP president Bal Bhise with Victor Dantes, while it appointed Prakash Rege and Ajit Naik as the party working president and youth district president respectively in place of the incumbent office beaters holding the twin positions. Ahead of the joint Congress-NCP rally for Nilesh Rane, a large section of NCP’s party workers in Sindhudug district-led by party’s legislator Kesarkar and district party unit president Bhise - had urged Pawar to skip the joint D4mocratic Front (DF) rally in line with their opposition to the “high-handedness” of the Rane family which “controlled Sindhudurg district with its iron fist”.
Hours before the rally, Kesarkar tendered his resignation as an MlA to Pawar, in his apparent bid to mount pressure on the latter not to join the joint Congress-NCP rally.However, Pawar ignored the party cadres’ appeal, went ahead and addressed the joint ruling Congress-NCP rally, where Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress and Sr Rane were other speakers.
At the fag end of his speech at the rally, Pawar broached the issue of vehement opposition within the NCP ranks to Sr Rane in Sindhudurg district and upbraided the “rebel elements” within party ranks for stand against the senior Congress minister.
“At a time when we (NCP and Congress) should be fighting as an alliance against the Opposition against Shiv Sena-BJP in national interest, it is rather unfortunate that some of our party workers are trying to settle scores with Rane. I don’t brook such an indiscipline among our party workers,” he said. While announcing the replacement of NCP’s district party president, Pawar said that Bhise had failed in taking right decisions vis-à-vis the Congress. “As far as party MlA Keskarkar is concerned, there is no provision within the party to expel the legislator concerned summarily from the party. That’s why I have asked the state party leadership to issue a show cause notice to Keskarkar. If he does not come with from a satisfactory reply to the notice, he will be expelled from the party,” Pawar said, as he directed the newly appointed district party office bearers and other workers to campaign for Nilesh Rane of the Congress.
Undeterred by the disciplinary action against them, NCP legislator Kesarkar and district party unit chief Bhise said that they would interact district party workers on Monday before taking a decision on their future course or action. Meanwhile, addressing an election rally in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency for his party’s nominee Vinayak Raut, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday complimented the “principled stand” taken by Kesarkar against Rane.
Through his appreciation of Kesarkar, Uddhav sent a message to the NCP leadership that it might try and woo Kesarkar, Bhise and other disgruntled party functionaries into the Sena fold ahead of the lok Sabha polls, scheduled for April 17.
The decision taken by Kesarkar, Bhise and other NCP workers not to toe the NCPO line is bound to affect the electoral prospects of the Congress nominee Nilesh Rane, who had won the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat in the 2009 lok Sabha by trouncing the Sena’s Suresh Prabhu.
This is given that the NCP has a very presence in Sindhudurg district, where it has 48 councillors in the civic bodies of Sawantwadi, Malvan, Vengurla and Kankavli, 10 zilla parishad members and 40-odd panchayat samiti members.
“By initiating disciplinary action against legislator Kesarkar and district party office bearers, Pawar has created an ideal situation for the rebel elements within his party ranks to switch sides ahead of the polls. If the NCP rebels do switch sides or work against Nilesh Rane in the polls, the Congress will not be able to retain the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat, which it would have done in the normal course,” a senior Congress leader said.