Perform or perish, says Pawar to NCP ministers

Says no lethargy will be tolerated in the party

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar at a meeting with party ministers held on Thursday asked the latter to perform or perish.

Pawar warned the ministers that they would have to strive for the victory of party nominees from their respective constituencies in the coming Lok Sabha elections or lose their tickets in the Assembly polls slated next year.

He further said no lethargy would be tolerated in the party. Pawar is hopeful that the NCP's tally would rise in the coming parliamentary elections to consolidate its presence both in the state and in national politics. NCP insiders say the party is eyeing 10 to 15 seats of the 22 in which the party would contest, compared with the eight it had won in the 2009 elections.

Pawar also said the NCP's alliance with the Congress would continue. However, he told the ministers that if the Congress created a situation by taking a rigid stand on seat sharing, then the NCP would have to be prepared to contest all 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. His message to party ministers was to wait until the results of elections in five states are formally announced on Sunday.

NCP state president Bhaskar Jadhav said Pawar reviewed the party's preparedness for the coming parliamentary elections. He told Business Standard: " This time around, the responsibility will be on the individual minister if the party candidate faces defeat in his or her constituency. The minister's renomination for the Assembly poll would depend on his or her performance."

Jadhav admitted that it was a wake-up call for all ministers and senior party leaders.

Thursday's meeting was crucial as Pawar was perturbed over the growing complacency among party ministers and lack of accountability. The trigger was the increasing attacks against the party and its ministers, in particular for their alleged involvement in various scams. Pawar's message was to counter these charges by reaching out to voters to effectively propogate the achievements of the state government.

Pawar expressed displeasure over ministers' reluctance to carry out field visits beyond their own assembly segments. He asked the ministers to step up their touring in districts assigned to them as guardian ministers and also other districts to increase the NCP's presence, especially among Muslims, Dalits, OBCs, women and the youth.

An NCP minister admitted that the party is known to be a bastion of the powerful Maratha community and the time was opportune to lure other communities into the party fold. "The number of young voters has increased substantially and the NCP would have to make extra efforts to reach out to them," he noted.

Further, the NCP would concentrate on block level visits and simultaneously reach out to voters through social media. The party has already launched its revised website and increased use of Twitter and Facebook.