Cong-NCP fears poaching, desertion in run up to assembly election

BJP, Shiv Sena eager to welcome ruling combine leader but not at cost of their loyalists

After crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Congress & Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra face twin challenge of poaching and exodus of leaders and rank and file.

The saffron BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, which has out-powered and outsmart the ruling combine by winning a record 42 of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, has already indicated that leaders from Congress and NCP are queueing up to join them in the run up to the elections to the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly slated for September-October.

Some of the former ministers, senior leaders and office bearers of the Congress and NCP especially from the cooperative rich western Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Konkan have already made up their mind to cross over while few with their traditional bastion are being lured by the saffron alliance.

Ironically, Congress-NCP alliance, which has been trailing behind in a record 234 of the total 288 assembly seats, is yet to recover from the humiliating defeat. Both these parties instead, are engaged in verbal duel over whether or not to fight the coming assembly elections separately.

A section of Congress & NCP leaders are in constant touch with the BJP minister Gopinath Munde and also with Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray. They are waiting for an auspicious timing to defect. Congress & NCP leaders admit that their winning chances are quite bleak due to anti incumbency and Modi effect.

BJP-Shiv Sena led five party alliance is quite bullish over their performance and determined to repeat the show in the ensuing assembly elections. Although BJP and Sena are also publicly debating the claim over the chief minister's post, they have one thing in common that they want ride high on Modi wave to dislodge the 15-year Congress-NCP government in the state.

BJP spokesman Atul Bhatkhalkar said his party, which has won 23 Lok Sabha seats, will certainly welcome leaders from the ruling combine but it won't be at the cost of party loyalists. ''Injustice will not be meted towards loyalist and long time party leaders and workers. Their interest will be safeguarded,'' he noted.

On the other hand, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Ratnakar Mahajan said the Modi led BJP victory is high on the minds of political leaders across the board. ''It will have some impact on the Congress party also. Some may explore an option of crossing over but it may show their impatience. However, the party can address this issue by focusing on strengthening the organization from the grassroots,'' he told Business Standard.

Congress party's co-partner NCP down played possibilities of poaching and desertion of its leaders. Party spokesman Nawab Malik said ''NCP is not an exception as ambitious leaders from every party plan to cross over ahead of election. However, there are large number of party loyalists and workers who will continue to abide by NCP ideology. So NCP will not be affected by few leaders changing the side,'' he opined.