NOD TO GONDIA BYPOLL, TEST CASE FOR ALL

FPJ POLITICAL BUREAU/ MUMBAI: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday cleared the decks for by-election in the BhandaraGondia Lok Sabha constituency. It has disposed of the petition challenging the by-poll. The seat is represented by Nana Patole who has quit the BJP and joined the Congress. This by-poll will be the litmus test for all the four major parties -the BJP, the Shiv Sena, the Congress and the NCP. The outcome will largely determine the contours of their future alliances. The saffron alliance, for instance, is wobbly and seat sharing is a sticking point. On the other hand, the Congress and the NCP, which had snapped ties in 2014, are keen to join hands to ward off the saffron alliance. NCP sources say Patole will not contest the by-poll and the Congress will support the NCP candidate. Varsha Patel, the wife of NCP leader Praful Patel, is likely be the joint candidate. Both MPCC chief Ashok Chavan and NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik indicated that “they don’t think there will be any issue over the by-poll.” According to insiders in NCP and the Congress, Patole is not interested in contesting the by-polls as he wishes to focus on the State assembly. He said, "Both Congress and the NCP want to teach a lesson to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This by-poll will provide them with that opportunity." Praful Patel, the original claimant, is no more interested in the seat as he is already a Rajya Sabha member.