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Maharashtra parties gear up

By Arunkumar Bhatt

MUMBAI, AUG. 24. The Election Commission's announcement today of the poll schedule for the Maharashtra Assembly has put the political parties of the State in a combat mode.

The clash is mainly between the ruling Democratic Front — the Congress, the NCP and their allies — and the opposition alliance of the Shiv Sena-BJP. The NDA as a whole is not in the fray in Maharashtra.

While the left and centrist parties are likely to swell the ranks of the ruling front, the Uttar Pradesh-based Samajwadi Party (SP) and its arch-rival Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), are expected to be solitary players.

The State leader of the SP, Abu Azmi, has declared that his party would go it alone, and the BSP supremo, Mayawati, who held the week-long consultations with the State unit office-bearers, told reporters that her party intended to contest the polls on its own. The party, however, had empowered her to take any decision in the interest of the backward communities.

The NCP has declared that it would not have anything to do with the BSP and the Congress is yet to make such an announcement.

As far as the SP is concerned, the Congress does not want to encourage it in Maharashtra. Secondly, the ruling party here finds it better placed in the Muslim constituency compared to the SP.

The emerging scenario could spell division of the secular votes. This alliance is going to accommodate in their ranks two quasi-political entities, Mr. Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatna-Swatantra Bharat Party with the BJP and Mr. Shashikant Pawar's Maratha Mahasangh. The Shiv Sena is expected to accommodate more Dalit candidates in view of its slogan, unity of Bheem Shakti and Shiv Shakti.

BJP, Sena ahead

As in the past, the BJP and the Shiv Sena have been ahead of the other side. They have stuck to their seat-sharing understanding but have also finished their primary campaigns.

Besides, they have held a number of regional and community conventions and programmes of their front organisations, discussing and highlighting a number of socio-economic issues and making emotional appeals.

The Shinde Government matched the campaign with declaring a number of sops, particularly to the farmers. The NCP held a state-level convention to gear up its apparatus.

Savarkar issue

The Savarkar issue has a special appeal in Maharashtra and the Shiv Sena and BJP are expected to exploit it to the hilt. The Congress and the NCP have avoided taking any clear stand on it for they do not want the campaign to get so polarised.

The Congress has overcome its initial hesitation and opposition within in aligning with the NCP and has begun what it calls preliminary talks with the State leaders of the NCP. The parties are expected to step up their general campaign while selecting the candidates.

The nominations start from September 22 and no party is going to be in a hurry to declare the names, for there is no prize for being early except that of inviting rebellion.

Both the sides are planning for unified campaigns for their nominees.

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