The Hindu : National : Sonia, Pawar to campaign together

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 08, 2004

National

National

Sonia, Pawar to campaign together

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 7. The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) combine is busy giving the final touches to the campaign plans of its top leaders in Maharashtra. The campaign is likely to move into top gear soon after the conclusion of the Janmashtami celebrations towards the end of the month. The two parties will embark on a joint campaign, and according to the plans drawn up so far, the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, and her NCP counterpart, Sharad Pawar, are scheduled to campaign together in several parts of the State.

Joint rallies

Ms. Gandhi is expected to campaign extensively throughout the State, while Mr. Pawar will lead the NCP's campaign. The two leaders are expected to address joint rallies in Vidharbha, Marathwada, Konkan, Western Maharashtra and Mumbai. The first rally is likely to be held in the third week of the month but the campaign will actually pick up steam after the completion of the festival season.

The Congress-NCP combine has its task cut out for it in the elections and the poll managers are keen to get their campaign going early. Their efforts have been hamstrung by the fact that the Congress is yet to finalise the names of all its candidates. "The Sena-BJP alliance has already hit the road, we need to complete the candidate finalisation fast so that they can move into the field and begin their work," a senior NCP leader said.

Incumbency factor

The NCP president, Sharad Pawar, has returned to the capital after a hectic tour of the State. He is likely to impress upon the Congress leadership the need for the two sides to get their act together fast. The initial reports that have come in are not very encouraging for the ruling combine and the NCP leadership is of the opinion that an intensive campaign, coupled with the right selection of candidates, can offset the disadvantage of the incumbency factor.

The NCP leadership is, however, pleased that they have agreed on the seat-sharing formula whereby the Congress is likely to contest 135 to 150 seats and the NCP around 125 seats, leaving the rest to the allies. "The seat-sharing is not much of a problem, what we need to do now is finalise the candidates and get them out in the field," says an NCP general secretary.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National