‘Unlikely to join govt’: Cong to wait and watch Maharashtra political situation for now

A section of the leaders feels the Congress should come forward only if the BJP fails the floor test.

Divided over the option to support the Shiv Sena to form the government in the state, the Congress has decided to wait and gauge the political situation over the next few days. The Congress does not want to take any ‘active role’ in the government, and is instead tapping the possibility of damaging the chances of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), even if the latter forms the government.

Senior party leaders, including state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat, former chief minister Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan and Manikrao Thakre, met party president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday (Satish Bate/HT FILE Photo)

Senior party leaders, including state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat, former chief minister Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan and Manikrao Thakre, met party president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday. On Friday, they had a meeting with the party’s organisational general secretary, KC Venugopal, and discussed the political equations and the option of supporting the Shiv Sena. “A section of the state leadership is strictly against supporting the Shiv Sena directly or indirectly to form the government as the people’s mandate is against us. Secondly, helping a communal party like the Sena sends out a wrong message to the minorities and Dalits, the party’s support base. Even if we form such a government of three parties, it will not last its full term and in such a situation, it will be more damaging for us. Central leaders, too, felt the same,” said a senior party leader.

Another senior leader said, “First, the Shiv Sena will have to come forward to seek support from us and then the NCP will have to play an active role. We are unlikely to join the government, given our ideological differences with the Shiv Sena. We may either extend outside support or play a passive role by abstaining from floor test to keep the BJP away from power.”

A section of the leaders feels the Congress should come forward only if the BJP fails the floor test.

The leaders are, however, unanimous on keeping the uncertainty over government formation for a few more days, as it will strengthen the Sena and help weaken BJP’s position in the government. Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat said: “We apprised Soniaji about the current political scenario in the state. We did not discuss the possibility of supporting the Sena during this meeting.”

State leaders had met NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday to discuss the option of forming a three-party government by supporting the Sena. Pawar had asked the Congress leaders to get a nod from the party high command before going ahead with the option. Earlier, the Shiv Sena leaders had met Pawar to discuss the possibility of coming together to form the government to keep the BJP out of power.

Pawar is now likely to meet Sonia Gandhi in Delhi next week, if the BJP forms a minority government without the Shiv Sena.

Meanwhile, former chief minister and senior party leader Sushilkumar Shinde and former Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam said the party should not back the Sena. “The Congress is a secular party and it should not get into the ‘unholy alliance’ with parties like the Shiv Sena or even the BJP,” Shinde told HT.

Nirupam, in a tweet, said the Congress should keep itself away from the BJP-Shiv Sena fight over power tussle.