MUMBAI: The NCP is working overtime to consolidate its hold over western Maharashtra which has 10 LS seats. The party is planning to secure at least 35 seats so that its president Sharad Pawar could stake his claim to prime ministership in the event of a hung house. It is trying to bag the bulk of these seats from western Maharashtra.
At present, the party has eight of the 10 seats from this region, but it is planning to capture all 10. A fairly sure seat will be that of Pawar himself who is planning to contest from Shirur in Pune district.
Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule will contest from Baramati-from where he has been elected several times. In Solapur, which has a BJP MP, Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde is planning to field his daughter Preeti on a Congress ticket. But NCP is strategising to capture this seat too by tacitly backing a powerful Independent. In the last elections, Shinde's wife, who was the Congress nominee, was defeated by the BJP.
In Kolhapur, the NCP may field speaker Babasaheb Kupekar or former health minister Digvijay Khanvilkar. There are indications that Khanvilkar, who belongs to a royal family and has a mass base in the district, may be rewarded for his steadfast loyalty to Pawar. On Sunday, Khanvilkar proved his clout by organising a huge rally in Kolhapur to commemorate the martyrs of 26/11. The success of the rally has become the talk of western Maharashtra.
The NCP has decided to set up a war chest containing upwards of Rs 400 crore for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. As there is no limit on the amount spent by a party, the NCP will loosen its purse strings generously. The party controls a string of sugar factories and banks in the cooperative sector. Some of its second-rung Maratha leaders are individually worth Rs 100 crore each.
Apparently, the NCP's friends in the intelligence community have informed it that no party or combination of parties will obtain a majority and that the polls will throw up a fractured verdict. Apart from its own MPs, the NCP is also expecting the support of parties like the Sena. Though the Sena has an alliance with the BJP, if Pawar has a good chance of becoming PM, then the saffron party may support him on the grounds that he will be the first PM from Maharashtra.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai/NCP-gains-ground-in-state/articleshow/4157613.cms
At present, the party has eight of the 10 seats from this region, but it is planning to capture all 10. A fairly sure seat will be that of Pawar himself who is planning to contest from Shirur in Pune district.
Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule will contest from Baramati-from where he has been elected several times. In Solapur, which has a BJP MP, Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde is planning to field his daughter Preeti on a Congress ticket. But NCP is strategising to capture this seat too by tacitly backing a powerful Independent. In the last elections, Shinde's wife, who was the Congress nominee, was defeated by the BJP.
In Kolhapur, the NCP may field speaker Babasaheb Kupekar or former health minister Digvijay Khanvilkar. There are indications that Khanvilkar, who belongs to a royal family and has a mass base in the district, may be rewarded for his steadfast loyalty to Pawar. On Sunday, Khanvilkar proved his clout by organising a huge rally in Kolhapur to commemorate the martyrs of 26/11. The success of the rally has become the talk of western Maharashtra.
The NCP has decided to set up a war chest containing upwards of Rs 400 crore for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. As there is no limit on the amount spent by a party, the NCP will loosen its purse strings generously. The party controls a string of sugar factories and banks in the cooperative sector. Some of its second-rung Maratha leaders are individually worth Rs 100 crore each.
Apparently, the NCP's friends in the intelligence community have informed it that no party or combination of parties will obtain a majority and that the polls will throw up a fractured verdict. Apart from its own MPs, the NCP is also expecting the support of parties like the Sena. Though the Sena has an alliance with the BJP, if Pawar has a good chance of becoming PM, then the saffron party may support him on the grounds that he will be the first PM from Maharashtra.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai/NCP-gains-ground-in-state/articleshow/4157613.cms
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