Buoyed by their victory in the recent elections to the 195 municipalities and a fiasco that social activist Anna Hazare’s agitation faced in this city last week, the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party have begun working for next month’s crucial polls to the 27 zilla parishads and 10 municipal corporations. Both ruling partners have decided to contest these elections on the plank of development, and expressed optimism that Hazare would not be a poll factor this time around.
The Congress and NCP are currently engaged in talks for striking an electoral pact to give a united fight against the Shiv Sena-BJP. The spirit is especially so in Mumbai and Thane, where the Sena-BJP has been in power for more than three successive terms. On the other hand, the Sena-BJP, along with Dalit-dominated Republican Party of India (Athavale), is making an all-out efforts to maintain its supremacy in Mumbai and Thane. Further, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, led by Raj Thackeray (nephew of Sena chief Bal Thackeray), has ambitious plans for Mumbai and Thane, where it wants to lure Marathi-speaking voters in particular.
The state’s election commission is expected to announce the dates for these elections this week.
Curiously, the Sena-BJP alliance, which is shocked now after having earlier benefitted from the Hazare factor in the elections to the 195 municipalities, is in the midst of reworking its strategy to take on the Congress-NCP front. It is with a view to “encash” on people’s “disenchantment” with the Congress-NCP government that the Sena-BJP combine has roped in RPI (Athavale). The consolidation of the NCP -- it was hitherto dubbed as Maratha-centric and limited to western Maharashtra -- especially in the urban areas has increased worries for the Sena-BJP-RPI.
These parties now admit they will have to put up extra efforts to lure voters especially in the 27 zilla parishads that are currently ruled largely by the Congress and the NCP.
NCP state president Madhukar Pichad recalled on Sunday that his party faced particular criticims from the Opposition as well as the Hazare-led activists during the first two spells of the civic-body elections. “If we, still, emerged on the top, it was possible because we approached the voters with development as our agenda. Our ministers are paying attention on timely implementation of development schemes and projects,” he told Business Standard. The NCP was confident of “repeating the show” in the coming polls.
A pre-poll meet between his party and the Congress is scheduled for January 4. “The aim is to strike an electoral deal with the Congress, especially in Mumbai and Thane. As far as zilla parishad elections are concerned, the NCP may go solo,” he noted.
Similar views were shared by Manikrao Thakre, the chief of Congress’s state unit. “Hazare was not a factor in the just-concluded polls,” he said, adding that a “slew” of anti-corruption measures by the Congress at the central and state level of late would help the party electorally. “We will reach out to the voters by taking up the development projects that our government has undertaken and proposed.”
The Shiv Sena seemed to put up a brave face even as it faced a debacle in the elections to the 195 municipalities.
A leader of the party -- he did not want to be identified -- said the Sena was paying special attention on the polls to the 10 civic bodies.
BJP leader Atul Shah said Mumbaikars were aware of the saffron alliance’s contribution to the development of Mumbai “despite a pro-active role” of the Congress-NCP government.
