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Merge NCP with Congress, we will remove Prithviraj Chavan as Maharashtra chief minister, says AICC to Sharad Pawar

CL Manoj, ET Bureau Jul 12, 2014, 03.16AM IST
(The Congress leadership…)

NEW DELHI: Beyond AICC's public statement that Prithviraj Chavan will continue as Maharashtra chief minister, despite mounting demands from the state Congress and ally NCP, lies realpolitik and hard-bargaining.

The Congress leadership has conveyed to NCP chief Sharad Pawar that Chavan's removal before the October assembly polls could be considered if NCP was ready to merge with Congress. According to Congress sources, AICC interlocutors have conveyed the merger proposal to Pawar adding that he could also take over the command of the Congress in the poll-bound state.

The Congress feels the NDA victory in the LS polls"has made the need for the merger of two parties a historic necessity to face the challenges ahead, 16 years after the split."

The Congress condition coincides with reports of a section of NCP eyeing a tactical link with NDA. The recent Pawar-Modi meet and reports of NCP chief spending quality time with a Gujarati industrialist had triggered interest in political circles as it coincides with BJP-Shiv Sena alliance experiencing rumblings over the assembly polls seat-sharing formula.

NCP has been resisting the Congress' merger proposal, prompting AICC to say that Chavan would stay CM."Why should NCP think about merger when Congress is down and out? Congress is free to cling to Chavan and sink in the polls. For us, it is the time to consolidate our base," said a NCP leader.

The hard-bargaining has prompted NCP to raise its bar by seeking equal share of seats (144) for the assembly poll by citing it has won four LS seats, compared to Congress' two, in the LS poll in Maharashtra.

"The EC notification for Maharashtra poll is expected by the end of August. Both Pawarji and we know much can happen in politics in the next 45 days if we show a realistic give-and-take attitude," said a senior Congress leader.