Pune, Ahmednagar LS seats likely to be thorn in Cong-NCP pact

Pune and Ahmednagar Lok Sabha constituencies are likely to become a bone of contention between Congress and NCP while sealing an alliance for the 2019 general elections.

During the 15-year alliance of the two parties, which parted ways ahead of the 2014 assembly polls, Congress has contested Pune, while NCP has fought Ahmednagar.

In 2004, NCP had won Ahmednagar, while Congress had bagged Pune. In the 2009 LS polls, Congress's Suresh Kalmadi had retained Pune, while NCP had lost Ahmednagar seat to BJP's Dilip Gandhi.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP had defeated Congress in Pune and NCP in Ahmednagar.

This time, NCP is seeking Pune. But, Congress is vehemently against leaving that seat to NCP, which claims to have better chances of winning.

Congress sources said that at the party's review meeting held in Mumbai, workers and leaders from Pune strongly opposed any move of giving the Pune seat to NCP during the seat-sharing talks.

In Ahmednagar, Congress has sought the candidature of Sujay Vikhe Patil, son of Leader of opposition in the Legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil. However, NCP has already rejected any proposal of leaving Ahmednagar for Congress.

Meanwhile, on the second day of Congress's review meeting, party leaders from Vidarbha and North Maharashtra discussed the party's prospects in their respective areas with the state leadership.

Party workers and leaders recommended that Manikrao Thakre, former state unit chief and former deputy chairman of Legislative Council, be fielded as the party candidate from Yavatmal.

However, the disclosure of prospective and aspiring candidates has not gone down well with a section of the party.

According to the leaders, it is a bad strategy to disclose the names of the prospective candidates months before the election process begins.

"This will give room to other parties like BJP to prepare their strategy to counter these candidates and their prospects. Similarly, their inner party rivals could also spoil their chances," sources said.

According to them, exploring possible candidates was being done early as per the directions of the party's central leadership so that the candidates (when finalised) can begin their campaign early.

Congress and NCP have had several rounds of talks for seat-sharing and have consensus over 38 to 40 seats, out of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.