After Ajit’s split, Congress wary of ally NCP

The split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has not only spoilt the plan for a three-party government in Maharashtra but has also widened the distrust between

The split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has not only spoilt the plan for a three-party government in Maharashtra but has also widened the distrust between the Congress and the NCP.

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The trust deficit between Congress and NCP became an issue during the attempt to form the government over the last three weeks, and raise suspicions about the NCP and its leadership.

Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, KC Venugopal, and Mallikarjun Kharge, who had flown down from Delhi to discuss the government formation, along with the top state leaders Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan attended a three-party meeting with NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at YB Chavan Centre, hours

after Ajit Pawar’s partnership with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis.

The Congress leaders attended the meeting with Pawar and Thackeray but did not stay back for the press conference that followed.

The reason given by the Congress leaders was that they had a legislative party meeting scheduled around the same time as the event. However, it may seem that the Congress leaders were not sure, at least until then, if the split was genuine or orchestrated by NCP’s party leadership. Ahmed Patel, who addressed a separate press conference after the joint-press conference by Pawar and Thackeray, was asked if there was distrust between Congress and NCP over the issue.

Patel, political adviser to the party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi, said that he does not want to comment on it.

“The leaders were in two minds over attending the meeting after the split in NCP, as a section of leaders were not

sure if it was a genuine one. Even during the entire process of bringing the three parties on board to form the government, there were many occasions when NCP leadership’s

role appeared to be suspicious,” said a senior Congress

leader.

NCP’s decision to convey to the Governor, on November 12, hours before the deadline given to them, that they were not in a position to form the government, also raised questions.

A section of Congress leaders feels that had the NCP not given its letter in the morning, the imposition of President’s Rule could have been prolonged at least by a couple of days. The Congress was not kept in the loop before the intimation was sent to Raj Bhavan.

Pawar’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah early this week, too, had raised eyebrows in the Congress as the meeting came at a time when talks between the three parties for formation of the government were at their peak.

“Pawar’s statement about having not discussed the formation of the government in Maharashtra with Sonia Gandhi, after meeting her on November 18 also created suspicion among Congress leaders,” said another party leader.

The leader said that even if they continue talks for the formation of a three-party government led by the Sena, they will tread very cautiously.