As BJP, Sena cross swords, Cong fears losing Opp turf

WITH ALLIES Shiv Sena and BJP calling off their alliance for the the Mumbai municipality polls, the Congress, which is the principal opposition party, is jittery.

Party insiders confirmed that the party fears ceding media space to the warring allies in the build-up to the elections could impact its poll campaign.

A senior party leader felt that there was a reason for the party to be wary.

In November 2015, the Shiv Sena and BJP had similarly waged a poll battle against each other in the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) polls. Their high-voltage campaign had virtually knocked the Congress and the NCP out of contention even before the polling day. The saffron allies later patched up to form the ruling coalition in KDMC.

Keen to avoid a repeat, the Congress poll managers now have plans to field local heavyweights in Mumbai and other local bodies. “We plan to field strong candidates who will keep the party voter intact,” said Mumbai Congress unit chief Sanjay Nirupam.

To remain relevant in the public eye, the plan, said insiders, is also to release a “populist” election manifesto promising freebies.

Nirupam also launched a frontal attack against the Shiv Sena and BJP on Friday.

“The Shiv Sena and BJP haven’t really split. They are only misleading the people to shield each other from the blame for corruption and the scams in the municipality. Both the Shiv Sena and the BJP are jointly responsible for these... If Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena chief) has the guts, he must first withdraw its ministers from the Centre and the state governments. Fighting like dogs while sharing power is cheap and misleading,” Nirupam said.

The NCP also labelled Sena’s announcement of contesting polls separately as a “farce”. The party’s Mumbai chief Sachin Ahir said, “Shiv Sena is fooling people of the state. It should first step out of the NDA government in the Centre and the Bjp-led government in the state.”