The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance in Maharashtra was still intact on Tuesday night but the latter caught its senior partner off-guard at the seat-sharing talks in Mumbai earlier in the morning, when it suddenly added to its wish list the demand that the Chief Minister’s post be shared by rotation.
The NCP also refused to back down from its demand of 144 seats in the 288-strong Assembly, and underscored the fact that the Congress’s offer of 124 seats, 10 more than the NCP contested in 2009 was unacceptable. Congress sources say it is now willing to concede 130.
A final understanding between the two parties is now stuck on the three issues of CM rotation, number of seats and allocation for Independents.
Thus far, Congress leaders have said that these conditions are unacceptable and indicate that the NCP wants to exit the alliance.
Congress expects NCP to reciprocate
Congress leader Narayan Rane — who is handling the party’s campaign in Maharashtra — said at a function in Nasik that “they [NCP] have asked that the Chief Minister’s post be shared by rotation for a two and a half year term each.”
“They refused to relent on their demand for 144 seats. And they want the Independents they have inducted to be fielded from our constituencies.”
State Congress chief Manikrao Thakre said, while refusing to comment on the NCP’s demands: “We have taken two steps forward. Now we expect our ally to take two steps forward. Otherwise, we cannot be blamed if an alliance does not work out.”
And, in a veiled threat, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the party’s contingency plan was ready in case the alliance broke. “We have finalised candidates for 174 seats from where we contested in 2009. We have also kept a list ready for the 114 seats that the NCP contested.”
It was however, not clear whether the NCP’s new demands amounted to pressure on the Congress to concede more seats, or whether the party was just looking for an exit route — especially as the Congress-NCP’s chances of returning to power look slim.
Officially, the NCP said it was hoping the alliance would work. “We have placed our demands and concerns before the Congress. They need to consult their high command and get back to us. We want the alliance to work but time is running out,” senior NCP leader Praful Patel said.
Announcement likely today
Political activity is likely to pick up on Wednesday, Congress sources said as the inauspicious shradh month ends on Tuesday: the Congress-NCP – like the BJP-Shiv Sena – is likely to make its official announcements on Wednesday, three days ahead of the last date for filing of nominations.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Madhusudan Mistry said on Tuesday that the party would announce its list of candidates for Maharashtra and Haryana on Wednesday evening.
