Mumbai: In a day of fast political developments, Maharashtra’s two main alliances — the BJP-Shiv Sena and the Congress-NCP — yesterday broke up over differences in seat sharing, setting the stage for multi-cornered contests in the October 15 assembly elections.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) called off its 15-year-old alliance with the Congress in the state, hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party snapped off its 25-year-old tie with Shiv Sena. The NCP also quit the Congress-led Democratic Front government, reducing it to a minority in the 288-member assembly and raising the possibility of the state coming under federal rule — barely three weeks before the poll.
The BJP has now decided to contest the elections with the support of at least three other smaller parties which were part of the erstwhile ‘Grand Alliance’.
“We tried our level best till the very last to save the alliance. However, there was no suitable proposal forthcoming from the Shiv Sena on the issue of seat-share which could honourably accommodate all the partners. Hence we have decided to go our independent ways,” BJP state president Devendra Fadnavis told media persons.
Barely an hour later, the NCP also broke its ties with Congress and announced it would contest the elections independently with support from “like-minded secular parties”.
“We have decided to chart our independent path along with some secular-minded parties,” state NCP president Sunil Tatkare told the media.
The NCP also decided to withdraw from the government.
Since the election code of conduct is already in force, political experts are not clear whether Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan will continue as a caretaker or president’s rule will be imposed in the state.
The unprecedented development — when both ruling and opposition alliance collapsed within an hour of each other — has thrown open the possible electoral outcome.
The development is being seen as both the junior alliance partners — the NCP and BJP — deciding to break free from the bigger parties — Congress and Shiv Sena — and attempt to grab power or become powerful on their own strengths.
The same-day, double-divorce came after weeks of bickering over the crucial issue of seat-sharing, and who would get the chief minister’s post after the elections.
Top BJP leaders directly accused Sena leadership of being not interested “in anything else except the CM’s post” while the Sena hit back by alleging “a secret understanding between BJP and (Sharad Pawar-led) NCP and super-arrogance”.
The BJP felt more frustrated as Sena president Uddhav Thackeray left on a day’s pilgrimage to Tuljapur Bhavani Temple in Osmanabad district yesterday, even as the deadline for filing nominations loomed large.
IANS
