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Maharashtra’s ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance on Wednesday slammed the understanding reached between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s deputy leader in the 15th Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray over the Beed Lok Sabha constituency, where polling took place on April 17.
Raj, who is not a part of the Shiv Sena-BJP-led five party alliance, has extended his party's support to Munde in Beed, Marathwada, where the latter faces a tough challenge from NCP nominee and minister of state for revenue Suresh Dhas.
The Congress-NCP termed the adjustment between Munde and Raj as an opportunistic one, alleging that Munde's move clearly shows that he has accepted defeat ahead of polling.
“That Raj Thackeray is an unpredictable and a wavering individual has once again been proved beyond doubt. No politics is involved here. He just wants to cut the nose of his cousin and that is the only instigation. However, Munde, who was all the while siding with Uddhav Thackeray, is also exposed as Raj has himself said that Munde pleaded for his support. This has cut Munde to his original size,” Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Ratnakar Mahajand told Business Standard.
Mahajan said the Congress party has been saying all the while that Munde or the BJP and Raj are in some tacit understanding which has now been proved.
State NCP spokesperson Atul Londhe said that Munde had accepted his defeat and was desperately looking everyday for new partners. “It also indicates that the Shiv Sena-BJP led alliance has lost its existence as one unit. Instead of keeping their allies together, the BJP and Munde are surrendering to Raj for their survival.”
Though it has not commented, Munde’s move has not gone down well with the BJP, which was not in a mood to further hurt its 25-year- old ally, the Shiv Sena. Even though Raj is openly supporting Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as the prime minister, he has fielded 10 candidates, two of them against the BJP in Maharashtra. After his recent secret meeting with the BJP’s former president Nitin Gadkari, Raj rejected Gadkari's proposal to abstain in the general elections. Subsequently, Raj and Uddhav entered into a verbal slanging match.
On the other hand, the Shiv Sena down played Raj Thackeray's decision to support Munde saying that the party chief Uddhav Thackeray had already said that an alliance with Raj Thackeray was a closed chapter and its pact with the BJP remained intact.
