Former political ally Samajwadi Party leaders levy allegations of 'power-hunger' at RPI chief; dalliance could have a telling impact in the upcoming civic polls
Former political ally Samajwadi Party leaders levy allegations of 'power-hunger' at RPI chief; dalliance could have a telling impact in the upcoming civic polls
With the Republican Party of India (A) cosying up to the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance, apparently to bag a Rajya Sabha berth, its former political bedfellowsu00a0-- the Congress-NCP and the Samajwadi Party-CPI (M) fronts ufffd are spending sleepless nights as the alliance could have a telling impact on the upcoming civic polls. According to Samajwadi Party leaders, RPI (A) chief Ramdas Athawale, who has been out of power for years, is planning a partnership with the Saffron alliance to secure a Rajya Sabha berth for himself. Athawale, who lost the last Lok Sabha polls from Shirdi, a reserve seat, alleged the Congress had plotted his defeat. But he showered praises on the other ally, the NCP and its chief Sharad Pawar, keeping the door ajaru00a0-- for a future alliance with the estranged partner. 
New partners? After alliance with Congress, PWD and SP-CPI(M),
Athawale is now flirting with new prospective partnersu00a0-- the Sena and
BJP. file pic
After parting his ways with the Congress, Athawale joined hands with the Samajwadi Party, CPI (M) and Peasants and Workers' Party (PWP) during the assembly elections, but this alliance too bore no fruits for the RPI (A) as all of its candidates lost in the polls. And immediately after the polls, Athawale's party divorced the Samajwadi Party-CPI(M) alliance too.
Now on his own, Athawale is flirting with the prospective partnersu00a0-- the Sena and BJP. Samajwadi Party, Mumbai secretary, Rais Shaikh said, "The SP feels betrayed and has distanced itself from Athawale. Grapevine has it that RPI (A) leader is doing all these theatrics for a Rajya Sabha seat, he can't stay away from power for long."u00a0 Jose George, professor of political science at Mumbai University, said, "The Sena at any cost wants to win the BMC polls after consecutive debacles in the last assembly and Lok Sabha elections. If the party fails to retain the civic body, its political clout in the state would be diminished drastically and the party won't have any important presence in the state politics. The RPI and Sena deal seems to be a barter between the parties.
There are high possibilities that the RPI (A) chief might ask for a RS seat and the saffron alliance might even accept his demand." George added that even the NCP might support Athawale's candidature to settle scores with the Congress. "The Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank controversy has miffed Pawar and to take revenge from the Congress, the NCP might support the RPI (A)," he said.
A livid Samajwadi Party leader said it's good that Athawale showed his true colours before the elections. "In the last civic body polls when the RPI was with us, it won three seats and that too from our strongholds. They couldn't have won a single seat without our support. Now, we are going to field our candidates from the three seats and we are sure that all the secular and anti-Congress votes would come to us, as people are fed up with the corruption regime of the Congress and also with the anti-secular forces," said Shaikh.
The Sena, however, sees nothing wrong in Athawale's ambition to enter the Upper House with its support. "The Congress and NCP have deliberately kept him away from power all these years just because he belongs to a particular caste. But the Sena has always been supporting and encouraging deserving people, immaterial of what caste or section they belong to. However, there is no barter or sauda between the Sena and RPI (A) in this matter. And if Athawale has to go to Rajya Sabha then it would be decided by Athawale and Balasaheb," said Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe.
The Other Side
Ramdas Athawale said that the SP and other parties had dumped him and were talking nonsense now.
"If I wanted to become an MP, the Congress-NCP would have made me earlier itself. With the Sena I have never discussed that MP issue. We are not an alliance yet, we are only working on the common minimum program," he said.
While RPI (A) is flirting with the Sena, it is keeping its options open. Athawale still has soft corner for his former allies, particularly the NCP and its chief Sharad Pawar.u00a0 "Pawar, immediately after my defeat in Shirdi, had offered me a Rajya Sabha seat. It would be wrong to say that he hasn't helped me or my party. It was because of his help that I could become MP on several occasions. He also helped my party members to become MLCs and even ministers.
I have not yet formed an alliance with the Sena-BJP. But yes we are working on a common minimum program. During civic polls, we will decide whether to go with the saffron alliance or not," he said.The SP has seven corporators in the corporation whereas the RPI has only three and in the assembly RPI has none MLA.
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