Cong, NCP set to share the political space once again

The NCP and the Congress are inching towards each other yet again; they even broke the ice and had preliminary talks on Tuesday, the first step before the two leaderships decide on a common political strategy for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The indication from both camps is that they are inclined to share the political space. Emerging from the meeting, senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan said, "All is well between the Congress and the NCP. The national leadership will take the final call on the alliance for Assembly and national elections."

In 2014, for the first time in 15 years, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party had fought alone in both Parliament and state elections. Since their pathetic loss, the leaders have tried to find a middle ground before they forge an alliance of sorts.

One stumbling block all this while has been NCP leader Sharad Pawar’s lukewarm attitude towards Rahul Gandhi but it seems the former has reconciled to the change in leadership and is ready to play along, if it helps them to wrest the government in Maharashtra. Pawar had said in Pune recently that like-minded parties should come together to oust the BJP.

Given that PM Modi’s magic is waning, Pawar can see the contours of a new alliance. Of late, he has also seen praising Gandhi in public rallies.

The issue of bye-election to Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha constituency was not discussed in Tuesday’s meeting. “This issue will be discussed once we take a final call on the alliance,” said Sunil Tatkre. The general mood in the NCP is that this is the best time to take on the BJP.