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The Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in Maharashtra believes it
is comfortably placed should the country face a mid-term poll in the
wake of current political crisis in New Delhi. The alliance hopes to
maintain its impressive tally, 33 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats, in
Maharashtra, if polls are held at the earliest - denying the Congress a
chance to build ties with the Samajwadi Party and the Republican Party
of India.
Though none of the political parties are keen on a mid-term poll, the
Sena-BJP is not overly perturbed. Sena chief Bal Thackeray's professed
support for Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda notwithstanding, the BJP is
confident that the Hindutva party will stand with by the BJP. The Sena's
handing over blanket power to former prime minister and BJP leader Atal
Behari Vajpayee to decide on the trust move on Friday confirmed this.
BJP sources say they are confident that the strategy to telecast the
confidence vote debate on the 13-day-long Vajpayee government in May
last year would pay if a mid-term poll is held. The party has not
rested since, waiting for the moment when the Congress withdraws support
or the United Front splits.
"The difficult part was over last year when the BJP and the Shiv Sena
fought hard to maximise the seats each wanted to contest. The BJP
contested 28, the Sena 20. The same ratio would be maintained though
there may be a couple of exchanges of seats," according to a senior BJP
functionary. He added that the entire structure of co-ordination
committees of the two parties was ready and that only a time-table was
now needed for them to mobilise.
Congress, the only serious rival it has in the state, is yet to regain
its lost vote bank of dalits and minorities. Congress Parliamentary
Party leader in Lok Sabha Sharad Pawar's overtures to the Samajwadi
Party and the RPI is yet to bear fruit. Lack of a seat adjustment with
the Third Front parties in the 1996 polls had helped the Sena BJP
alliance win at least 10 additional seats, the poll analysis showed.
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