NCP president to soon announce plan to drub BJP-Shiv Sena

Mumbai: The Sharad Pawar-led NCP has chalked out a plan to drub the BJP-Shiv Sena in the upcoming Assembly election, claimed party leaders. Party treasurer and legislator Hemant Takle said that state president Jayant Patil would soon announce the plan. Excoriating party leaders who had left to join the saffron fold, Mr Takle said that those who “have to save their homes” have left the party.

The NCP suffered a jolt last week when former Maharashtra minister Sachin Ahir switched to the Shiv Sena. Earlier this month, NCP’s Shahapur legislator Pandurang Barora resigned as a member of the Maharashtra Assembly and joined the Sena. Former NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Jaydutt Kshirsagar, too, joined the Sena in May. Mr Takle, who is a member of the upper house in the state Legislature, said that the plan had been formulated to defeat communal parties BJP and Shiv Sena.

He also indicated that owing to the leaders who were deserting the party, the people were not getting an opportunity. Now, people at the ground level would get an opportunity in the party.

Attacking Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray’s and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s Rath Yatra, Mr Takle said that this was not a Jansandesh Yatra but a Girish Mahajan Adesh Yatra (a yatra organised through an order of Girish Mahajan).

Mr Fadnavis will begin the Assembly poll campaign with the “Maha Janadesh Yatra” on Thursd-ay at Amravati. He said that all the probe agencies were being misused to suppress the leaders in order to bow before the ruling parties.