National
`Congress stand will help Sena-BJP'
By Mahesh Vijapurkar
MUMBAI, JAN. 3. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is sore that the Congress had declined to work out a poll arrangement with it to fight the ``menace'' of the ``communal Shiv Sena - BJP alliance'' for the elections to the premier civic body - the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai - due in February.
The Congress considers the NCP presence in Mumbai to be of no consequence and would first like it to become contrite for its `anti-Sonia Gandhi' platform. ``Or else, no tie-up at all,'' says the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Govindrao Adik. The NCP retort comes from Chagan Bhujbal: ``Then why run the Government with us? The Congress has insulted Mr. Pawar enough.''
Observers here are quite surprised at the insistence of the NCP for a poll tie-up till the last moment - nomination papers have to be filed from tomorrow itself - since, notwithstanding claims to the contrary, its association with the Congress in the Government has blurred its identity to some extent. A senior NCP source had on Wednesday said: ``We wonder if we are any different from them.''
The NCP's spokesman, Vasant Chavan, says the NCP does fear loss of its identity by associating with the Congress and, therefore, formed a Government with the Congress two years ago. And yet, the focus of attack by the Congress of late has not been the Sena-BJP but the NCP.
The NCP intention has been to forge an alliance only in Mumbai and no where else, for over dozen civic corporations for which polls are due in February. In the earlier polls to smaller town councils, the Congress and the NCP fought each other in triangular contests and did fairly well by putting up Independent fronts and then working out post-poll arrangements with them.
Now, the NCP squarely blames the Congress for the possible - it insists it is certain - division of ``secular votes'' which would lead to the control of the premier civic body remaining with the Shiv Sena in alliance with the BJP. The two have divided 227 wards with the Sena getting 157 and the BJP 70.
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