Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena is likely to stitch an alliance with the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for the January 15 Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) polls.
Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Dhangekar on Monday met with Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar amid speculation that he might switch parties. When asked about a ticket snub for his son, he denied switching parties and said, "Dhanush-Baan" (bow and arrow), referring to the Shiv Sena's election symbol.
Addressing the question of an alliance with the NCP, he told reporters that Shinde would decide. "Party workers wanted to meet Ajit Pawar. There was no discussion about any alliance. Eknath Shinde will do the alliance discussion. He will decide it," he said.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena Pune City Chief Pramod Bhangire on Tuesday declared that they would be no alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the city. However, he didn't say anything regarding an alliance with the two NCP factions.
Earlier, the two NCP factions teamed up in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Speaking to reporters, NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar said that both parties will contest on their respective symbols. Interestingly, he said that NCP-SP patriarch Sharad Pawar was not involved in the decision-making process for the alliance.
Rohit Pawar said, "After speaking with all the party workers, Supriya Sule herself also interacted with the workers from Pune. Subsequently, discussions were held with workers from Pimpri-Chinchwad. This is a fight of the workers and their election. Therefore, after listening to their views and understanding their concerns, it was decided that both NCP factions will contest the polls together in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. However, both parties will contest on their respective symbols."
"This decision has been taken only for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, and that too after listening to the local workers and with their consent. Pawar Saheb is not involved in this entire decision-making process. Such senior leaders have never directly participated in municipal corporation elections. He only said that the views of those who fought for us should be heard and understood, and that decisions should be made in accordance with what the workers decide. Therefore, this alliance has been formed in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad," he added.
(With ANI inputs)
