PUNE: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and federal Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar dropped a bombshell yesterday when he asked the party’s coalition partner in Maharashtra, Congress party, to share power on a “50-50” basis.
The surprise demand came just months before the parliamentary elections, which the two party hope to fight on a joint platform. Pawar’s demand, if acceded by Congress, would rotate the state chief ministership between the two parties every two and a half years.
The NCP, which has been in alliance with the Congress for the past 10 years, has indicated that it may tie up with the Shiv Sena for this polls if the Congress does not agree to its terms.
Political analysts view this as pressure tactics by the NCP. Pawar’s demand of sharing the chief minister post could be linked to NCP’s demand for more seats in the upcoming elections.
A secret conclave between Shiv Sena working President Uddhav Thackeray and Pawar last week in New Delhi indicates that NCP is ready to play hardball if Congress does not accede to their demands in order to keep the alliance.
Amid this backdrop, the Congress and NCP leaders met again in Mumbai on Friday to discuss sharing of seats. During the meeting the NCP Maharashtra unit President R.R. Patil had put forth Pawar’s viewpoint.
Pawar yesterday confirmed the latest demand here while speaking to the press.
He reminded the Congress that it had signed a similar pact with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kashmir and hence this formula could well be applied in Maharashtra.
State Congress spokesman Hussain Dalwai criticized Pawar’s demand and said that it was illogical and that the NCP was bent on spoiling the cordial relations that parties maintained for the past several years.
