MUMBAI, January 22: Ruling alliance partner BJP's decision to nominate two senior Cabinet Ministers to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha polls has set it on a confrontation course with the Shiv Sena which has taken a policy decision not to field ministers as it leads to by-elections in their Assembly constituencies.On its part, keen to avenge defection in Beed and a loss in Dhule, the BJP has decided to field Minister of State for Co-operatives Jaisingrao Gaikwad Patil and Rural Development Minister Annasaheb Dange respectively from the two constituencies. In both the seats, the party will be pitted against Congress as its sitting MP in Beed, Rajni Patil, has defected to Congress while it had lost Sangli to Congress in the last elections.
The Kopargaon seat is proving to be another bone of contention following the BJP's unilateral declaration of its candidate. Kopargaon was being sought by the Sena for sugar baron Balasaheb Vikhe Patil, who recently switched over.
A senior Shiv Sena leader said that at a
juncture when the alliance was planning to field Vikhe Patil, who had been a Member of Parliament for four consecutive terms from Kopargaon, the BJP nominated Bhimrao Badte without consulting Shiv Sena Commenting on the issue, Chief Minister Manohar Joshi said:``Vikhe Patil had expressed his desire to contest from Kopargaon.
However, since the BJP has declared its candidate, we will have to talk to him and if he is prepared to contest from Ahmadnagar, the Sena is willing to nominate him,'' Joshi added.
And even as these two issues have miffed the Sena, BJP will soon be deciding on another crucial one-its support to Suresh Kalmadi.
Addressing a press conference here today BJP spokesman Prakash Javwdekar said talks were on with him and some sort of decision will be arrived at by the end of this week. Though not ruling out Kalmadi's candidature for the Pune, he went on to add there were lot of technical details which will have to be sorted out before the party backs him. Asked about Sena's stand on
Kalmadi, Joshi said Thackeray was considering the issue. Sena is seeking an assurance from the high-profile politician that he would not rejoin Congress after the mid-term polls.
Apart from Pune, the BJP now has to decide only on Baramati and Pandharpur constituencies. On the other hand, Sena was yet to decide a safe constituency to field T N Seshan with Joshi saying that his party was "considering" to field him from Washim in Vidarbha.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
