Congress-NCP to give final touches to Sena alliance today
New Delhi: NCP and Congress leaders are expected to discuss a host of issues ranging from the name of their likely alliance if they join hands with the ideologically opposite Shiv Sena to the contours of their tie-up in the coming polls in their meeting scheduled for Wednesday, an NCP leader said.
Amid this power-sharing tussle, the Shiv Sena attacked its former long-time ally BJP in a hard-hitting editorial in its mouthpiece "Saamana". Reminding the saffron party that it stood with it when nobody supported it, the editorial said: "It is the beginning of the end of politics of arrogance. We promise you, we will uproot you one day as you have challenged us."
Meanwhile, the Congress and the NCP are not comfortable with the name 'Maha Shiv Aghadi' (a grand alliance comprising the Shiv Sena), the leader said. "We don't want name of any party in the alliance. Even in the NDA and the UPA alliances don't have names of parties," the leader added.
The Congress-NCP alliance is known as 'Aghadi' (front) and the Shiv Sena-BJP-RPI and other smaller parties are known by the term 'Mahayuti' (the grand alliance).
The two parties would also discuss whether they would contest the civic body polls with the Shiv Sena if the three parties join hands to form the government in the state.
A meeting with the Congress scheduled on Tuesday to further discuss the possibility of government formation in Maharashtra was called off due to pre-occupation of Congress leaders with Indira Gandhi's birth anniversary events. Congress leaders had requested that the meeting be postponed to Wednesday. The two sides have deputed leaders for holding talks on a possible alliance.
Accordingly, Mallikarjun Kharge, Ahmed Patel and Congress general secretary K C Venugopal besides some state leaders and Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil of the NCP were to meet to explore the possibility of an alliance with the Shiv Sena in the state.
