Mumbai: It was a political merry-go-round with the Opposition troika playing a game of hopscotch with the BJP, trying to stay one step ahead in the game of subterfuge and deception.
The MLAs of the NCP and the Shiv Sena -- their fears almost bordering on paranoid -- hopped from one hotel to another to throw the poachers off the scent. For the NCP, it was Hotel Renaissance initially and then Hyatt; the Sena MLAs moved to the Lalit when Lemon Tree became too hot. The Congress was holed up in the JW Marriott.
According to one media account, NCP MLAs had been asked to sign affidavits, swearing loyalty to the party supremo. There was a piece of good news when MLA Dilip Bankar, who had attended Saturday's swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan, trooping into the NCP. Three others - incommunicado since Saturday - also surfaced. Manikrao Kokate, Anil Patil and Nitin Pawar have also offered support to Sharad Pawar. With that, Ajit Pawar’s isolation is complete.
A bit of action came when a policeman in plain clothes was heckled by NCP leaders inside Renaissance. It was alleged that the officer was snooping on behalf of the BJP. The NCP possibly spooked after Ashok Chavan alleged that the BJP was trying to contact party MLAs and offering them plum portfolios and other inducements. Chavan also alleged that BJP leaders had checked into hotels where his party MLAs had been put up.
The mad scramble for hotels began with the BJP dropping all pretensions about being a party with a difference and resolving to win the upcoming floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly at any cost. The BJP high command even deputed three leaders with the task of breaking into the Sena combo and plucking the fence-sitters. The three leaders, predictably, are all turncoats -- Narayan Rane, Ganesh Naik, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Babanrao Pachpute – with cross-connections.
While Rane is a former Congressman, so is Vikhe Patil who joined the BJP ahead of the assembly polls held in October. Naik and Pachpute switched over from the NCP.
The BJP, which emerged from last month's election with 105 seats in the 288-seat Assembly, needs around 40 more to reach the majority mark and retain power in the state.
In the NCP, Jitendra Ahwad is the watchdog and his task is to neutralise any attempt by Ganesh Naik to entice the MLAs. Sharad Pawar is keeping in touch with the MLAs while Mumbai unit President Nawab Malik was in and out of the Renaissance. Jayant Patil is also taking turns in guarding the flock.\
Sena leader Subhash Desai was on his toes, even though the legislators were quarantined and their mobiles have been confiscated. The hotel had been cordoned off and none of them was being allowed to leave, with Uddhav Thackrey's top aide Milind Narvekar personally monitoring the circus.
Aaditya Thackeray posted photographs of MLAs with a hashtag - #MahaStrength - in a display of solidarity with the NCP. Sources said the Sena was helping the NCP and the Congress in keep their flock away from the roving eyes of the BJP.
The Congress MLAs were to fly out of Mumbai, but anticipating the Supreme Court ruling and on the advice of Sharad Pawar, the party decided to house them in Mumbai. Former Chief Ministers Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan are the key point persons. Without their go-ahead, nobody can meet the MLAs. Trouble-shooter Ahmed Patel is managing the show and giving directions to the legal team in Delhi.
