Maharashtra Congress may delay first list of candidates in this week
- Details
- Category: Maharashtra Political News
- Last Updated: Thursday, 22 January 2015 21:01
Maharashtra Congress may delay first list of candidates in this week
The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) is unlikely to announce the first list of its candidates for the state assembly elections this week and may instead take the 'wait and watch' approach to assess the political steps of unhappy party MLAs and leaders.
MPCC president Manikrao Thakre, who was recently in the city, had said that the party would announce its first list of candidates by August 5. Senior Congress leaders, however, told TOI that the party leadership will now deliberately delay its list to keep watch on leaders who could join the opposition. Also read-- Maharashtra poll 2014: Will NCP, Congress agree to 50:50 share in assembly polls?
"If we announce the list early, we will give many party leaders a reason to join the BJP-Sena. They have already made up their minds, but just want a reason to leave the party. The party has decided not to open its cards so soon," said a senior party leader, who added that the party was also discussing seat sharing with alliance partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The final list will be ready only after the seat-sharing formula is finalised. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and Thakre are holding talks with NCP leaders. Chavan, while addressing party workers in Nashik on Sunday, reiterated that the Congress was not going to accept pre-conditions for talks with the NCP. Thakre said that Congress will not give any additional seat to the NCP, which has demanded 144 seats. Also Read-- District Wise List of Polling Stations of maharashtra..click here
According to a Congress MLC, the party will start finalising its candidates only after the two parties come to a conclusion. "There is a possibility of the NCP and the Congress swapping some seats. Once the final formula is decided, the Congress will announce its list," the MLC said.
The MPCC, meanwhile, has asked its district and city units across the state to prepare reports on the political scenario in assembly segments falling under their area. The MPCC will call city and district unit presidents to Mumbai for discussions based on these reports before finalising the candidates.
Pune
The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) is unlikely to announce the first list of its candidates for the state assembly elections this week and opt for 'wait and watch' policy to assess political steps by unhappy party MLAs and leaders. MPCC president Manikrao Thakre who was recently in Pune had said that the party would announce its first list of candidates by August 5. However, senior Congress leaders told TOI that the party leadership now wants to deliberately delay its list and keep watch on its leaders who could join the opposition.
" If we announce the list early, we will give a reason to many party leaders to join the BJP-Sena. They have already made up their mind but want a reason to leave the party. The party has not decided to open its cards so soon" said a senior party leader who added that the party was also discussing seat sharing with the alliance partner the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The final list would be ready only after seat sharing formula is finalised. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and Thakre are holding talks with the NCP leaders. Chavan while addressing party workers in Nashik on Sunday reiterated that Congress was not going to accept pre-conditions for talks with the NCP. Thakre said that Congress will not give any additional seat to the NCP, which has demanded 144 seats.
According to one of the Congress MLC, party will start finalising its candidates only after talks between the two parties come to some conclusion. " There is possibility that NCP and Congress could swap some seats. Once the final formula is decided, Congress will announce its list" said the MLC. Meanwhile the MPCC has asked its district and city units across the state to prepare reports on the political scenario in assembly segments falling under their area. The MPCC will call city and district unit presidents to Mumbai for discussions based on these reports before finalising the candidates.
If we announce the list early, we will give many party leaders a reason to join the BJP-Sena. They have already made up their minds, but just want a reason to leave the party. The party has decided not to open its cards so soon.
src:timesofindia