![It’s a deal: Congress State president Nana Patole, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar announcing the candidates in Mumbai on Tuesday. It’s a deal: Congress State president Nana Patole, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar announcing the candidates in Mumbai on Tuesday.](https://www.thehindu.com/theme/images/th-online/1x1_spacer.png)
It’s a deal: Congress State president Nana Patole, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar asserting the candidates in Mumbai on Tuesday.
| Picture Credit score: Emmanual Yogini
With tensions persevering with to run excessive inside companions of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) over the ceding of the Sangli Lok Sabha seat to Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), prime leaders of the Maharashtra Congress on Thursday together with MPCC chief Nana Patole, former CM Prithviraj Chavan, and ex-Minister Balasaheb Thorat held a conclave to pacify the social gathering’s restive cadre in western Maharashtra.
The Thackeray group’s intransigence over contesting the Sangli seat, a Congress bastion for half-a-century since Independence, had provoked intense resentment among the many Congress cadre in Sangli which refused to marketing campaign for political neophyte Chandrahar Patil, a wrestler who was fielded by the Sena (UBT).
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The transfer brought about the Congress’ aspirant for Sangli, Vishal Patil – the grandson of late Maharashtra CM and stalwart Congressman Vasantdada Patil – to insurgent and contest as an Unbiased. This has set alarm bells ringing inside the MVA with its management questioning whether or not the already demoralised Congress cadre in Sangli would marketing campaign wholeheartedly for Chandrahar Patil or not.
Addressing the conclave, Vishwajeet Kadam, the MLA of Palus-Kadegaon (in Sangli) and the chief promoter of Vishal Patil for the seat, warned Mr. Thackeray’s Sena (UBT) that whereas the Congress cadre would work to garner votes for the MVA’s candidate (Chandrahar Patil), the Sena (UBT) mustn’t anticipate something (when it comes to seats) within the Maharashtra Meeting election later this 12 months.
Emotions ran excessive amongst Congress staff as Mr. Kadam, who had fought tooth and nail to make sure Vishal Patil bought a ticket, gave vent to the seething resentment among the many cadre in opposition to the Sena (UBT).
“For nearly a year, it was certain Vishal Patil would be the candidate and our leaders at the State level had even conveyed the same to the Congress high command. However, things started to go wrong in the past few weeks when Uddhav Thackeray came to Sangli and unilaterally staked claim on this seat. Does this ever happen in a democracy? Should not the Thackeray faction at least have taken us into confidence? I maintain it was a mistake to give them the seat,” Mr. Kadam mentioned.
Whereas reluctantly agreeing to adjust to “coalition dharma”, Mr. Kadam mentioned the Thackeray Sena ought to know that every one the votes gained by the MVA candidate in Sangli can be Congress votes. Of the six Meeting segments that make up the Sangli constituency, the Sena (UBT) has no presence in a single one in every of them.
In a bid to pacify the upset staff, Balasaheb Thorat mentioned that seat-sharing discussions pertaining to Sangli had reached such an excessive level that the way forward for the MVA and the INDIA alliance was at stake.
“The discussions [between the MVA allies] over the first 30 Lok Sabha seats went of smoothly. But the remaining 18, especially the last three seats and particularly Sangli, took three months to resolve,” Mr. Thorat mentioned.
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He mentioned that the Sena (UBT) remained adamant on giving the seat to the Congress, stating that because the Congress had been given Kolhapur, the Thackeray Sena should be given Sangli.
“This was despite us repeatedly telling them that the Sangli seat has been a traditional Congress bastion,” Mr. Thorat mentioned, lauding Mr. Kadam’s frantic efforts to safe Sangli for the Congress.
Talking on the event, Mr. Chavan candidly admitted that had the 2019 Lok Sabha election for the Congress turned out otherwise, then the social gathering wouldn’t have needed to enter into any coalitions.
“Unfortunately, we have had to pay the cost of entering into alliances with the other parties knowing that we would have to settle for a less share of seats. It is regrettable that this cost has to be borne by the loss of Sangli,” Mr. Chavan mentioned, including that everybody in Delhi, be it Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi, was conscious of the sentiments of disappointment inside the Sangli Congress unit.
Whereas sympathising with the cadre, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole and the senior leaders urged the cadre to nonetheless work to make sure the victory of the MVA’s candidate with a view to hold the BJP out of energy.