PUNE, India, 4 June 2007 — The bugle of coalition party rule in Maharashtra irrespective of religious affiliations and tags has been sounded by the Indian Muslim Congress Party (IMCP), a party formed by Muslim leaders in Malegaon, which held talks with the Hindu fundamentalist Shiv Sena party to forge an alliance and run the Malegaon Municipal Corporation.
The IMCP had emerged as the single largest party in the Malegaon Municipal Corporation elections held recently. The alliance between a Muslim party with a hard-line Hindu group has caused ripples in the national political arena.
IMCP officials say they have no qualms in forging an alliance with the Shiv Sena. Under an agreement between the two parties, an IMCP nominee will get the post of mayor.
A poll conducted by Mumbai Urdu daily Inquilab had an overwhelming majority of 67 percent Muslims supporting the idea of the IMCP forging an alliance with the Shiv Sena.
Commenting on the alliance between a Muslim and a hard-line Hindu party, Sultan Khan, a lawyer in nearby Nashik, said: “Religion or political mindset should not be the criterion for forging an alliance, for it hardly matters when the issue is more of development of the city and those that are linked to the wishes of the people and honoring them. The evolution of such an alliance shows that the future belongs to coalition politics where religious affiliations of parties don’t count. It would not be a surprise if tomorrow even the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party embrace Muslims and form a coalition government.”
Meanwhile, leaders from both groups met at the Godavri rest house on Saturday evening and discussed several issues. The IMCP offered the post of deputy mayor to Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena leaders urged that a Sena nominee be allowed to serve as mayor for one year out of the five-year term.
It was agreed that further discussions on the issue would be held between Maulana Mufti Mohammed Ismail and Sena legislator Dada Bhuse.
Shiv Sena working president Uddhav Thackeray will formally announce the decision of support to the IMCP on June 8.
