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Patole’s absence from first MVA rally raises rumours of rift within coalition
The absence of Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole from the first joint rally of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has raised eyebrows in political circles and jibes from the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP. The attempts by senior MVA leaders to gloss over the issue have not gone down well with Patole himself, who refuted the reasons given by them
Mumbai: The absence of Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole from the first joint rally of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has raised eyebrows in political circles and jibes from the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP. The attempts by senior MVA leaders to gloss over the issue have not gone down well with Patole himself, who refuted the reasons given by them.
Patole was absent for the first of at least seven such rallies planned ahead of the local body and general polls in the state. Although his skipping the Sambhaji Nagar rally on Sunday surprised many, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut tried to play it down, saying the Congress leader was unwell. He also said that other two Congress leaders had spoken at the rally.
“It is true that Patole was not present but he was unwell,” Raut had told reporters on Monday morning. “If you phone him even now, you can gauge from his voice that he is still not well. He was about to come for the rally but could not and was taking rest at his Mumbai residence the whole day.”
Patole himself, however, contradicted Raut’s version, leading to speculation about friction within the alliance. “I am fit and fine and was in Delhi on Sunday,” he told reporters in Surat. “I was called there to plan the Surat tour. The reason given that I was not well is not true. Someone else may fall ill because of me.” On Monday, the state Congress chief also accompanied senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to a Surat court to file an appeal against the latter’s conviction in a defamation case.
Raut’s statements prompted senior BJP leader and Union minister Raosaheb Danve to take a jibe at the Opposition. He said, “You (media) know more about Nana Patole’s pain than I do.”
After Raut, leader of the Opposition Ajit Pawar too had tried to sweep the issue under the carpet by saying that all the MVA leaders would not be able to present for all the rallies. “We don’t want to make the rallies lengthy, and have decided that they should be completed in two hours,” he said in an interaction at the NCP headquarters. “Accordingly, it was decided that two leaders from each of the three parties will address the rallies. Thus it is not necessary for all the leaders to remain present at all the rallies.”
Pawar added that the Vajramooth Sabha, as the MVA’s series of rallies has been named, indicated their unity. “We all are united when we say ‘vajramooth’ (iron fist),” he said. “And we all stand by that.”
