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NCP partners have sorted matters out: Bhujbal

Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Bombay

The Nationalist Congress Party-led alliance in Maharashtra today affirmed that there is no trouble among its partners and they have settled their disputes regarding ticket distribution amicably.

State NCP president Chhagan Bhujbal told reporters at a joint press conference: "We all claim that there is no problem among us and we are surely going to demolish the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance in the assembly as well as Lok Sabha elections."

Veteran Socialist leader Mrinal Gore of the Janata Dal (Secular), Samajwadi Party Bombay unit president Abu Asim Azmi, and Ramdas Athavale, president of the Republican Party of India (Athavale) were present.

Bhujbal claimed that his alliance's fight was only with the Sena-BJP candidates, for Sonia Gandhi's Congress would "fare miserably" as the party has "only leaders and no mass base".

Athavale expressed confidence that the alliance would, in Maharashtra, easily win 160 assembly and 35 Lok Sabha seats.

Asked why he went for the Pandharpur seat instead of Bombay North-Central, he said, "I wanted to contest from Pandharpur because it has a large population of dalits and that area has been neglected for long. I want to highlight that issue in Parliament."

So it wasn't because he was scared of losing to former chief minister Manohar Joshi in Bombay North-Central?

"I don't consider him a tough contestant. There is a lot of disappointment among voters with the BJP-Sena. I am contesting from Pandharpur because my native place Sangli too is near my constituency."

Gore announced that the JD-S would contest only two parliamentary seats -- Rajapur and Malegaon. Former finance minister Madhu Dandvate will contest the former while Haribhau Male will represent the party in the latter.

Azmi, for his part, was confident that the alliance would throw the Sena-BJP combine out of power and establish a secular government in Maharashtra.

Athavale was upset that the Election Commission had not allotted the undivided RPI's 'rising sun' symbol to his faction, forcing him to move the courts. He promised to raise the matter in Parliament and ensure that the EC never again harasses any party for "minuscule reasons".

Asked whether the NCP-led alliance would co-operate with the Congress after the election, Athavale said: "We can take support from them to form the government."

Bhujbal was quick to intervene. His party, he clarified, "wouldn't mind" support from the Congress "if an NCP-led government comes to power at the Centre and we have our prime minister".

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