Sanjay Nirupam terms Cong Sena tie-up suicidal'

Mumbai: Even though the Congress has almost finalised its decision to form the government with the Shiv Sena, some party leaders are still raising their voice against the decision.

Former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam on Thursday said that joining hands with the Sena would be suicidal for the Congress and urged Sonia Gandhi to detest from taking the decision under pressure from local leaders.

“Partnering as the third largest party in a Shiv Sena-led government is like ‘burying’ Congress in the state. It will be better that the Congress president doesn’t come under any pressure (sic),” he tweeted.

“Years ago, Congress had made a mistake in Uttar Pradesh by forging an alliance with BSP. After that, it was beaten in such manner that it has not been able to revive till date. We are repeating the same mistake in Maharashtra (sic),” Mr Nirupam tweeted.

The former city chief’s statement has once again exposed the differences within the Congress over its plan to form the state government along with the Sena.

Some MLAs admitted that while influential leaders of the party are excited with the opportunity to form the government, all voices are not being heard.

“We have been opposing the decision to tie up with the Sena. But nobody is listening to us,” said a Congress MLA on the condition of anonymity. However, some leaders are of the view that the party should support the Sena to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power.

After the BJP turned down its demand for rotational chief ministership, the Sena snapped ties with the saffron party and sought the support of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress for forming the government.

Currently, the Congress and NCP are working out the modalities of forming the government with the Sena.

Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress won 56, 54 and 44 seats, respectively, in the recent Vidhan Sabha polls. Together, the three parties command 154 MLAs, enough to keep the BJP, the single largest party with 105 MLAs, away from power.

Maharashtra went to polls on October 21 and the result were declared on October 24.