Maharashtra Leaders Fear Hung Assembly
With leaders secretly admitting possibility of Maharashtra having a hung assembly, roles of not only rebels but even that of so far ignored MNS and Ramdas Athavale-led Third Front have suddenly assumed greater political importance.
According to reports of The Times of India, a senior congress leader admitted that since neither the Congress-NCP alliance nor the saffron combine might secure a clear majority, the MNS and the Third Front will have important role to play post election.
The leader said that Congress-NCP would secure 120 to 130 seats and the Sena-BJP 115 to 120, thus MNS and the Third Front making might be deciding factors to reach the magic number of 144.
However, the Congress party refuted, on record, any possibility of outside help. State Congress president Manikrao Thakare said, ‘‘I have visited most of the constituencies across the state. In my opinion, the Congress-NCP alliance is in a comfortable position. I am sure we will cross the magic figure of 144.’’
Similarly, the BJP said that the MNS would have no role to play post elections. ‘‘We don’t think that the MNS will have any role to play in the formation of the government. During the Lok Sabha polls, the MNS performed well, but now people have realised that voting for the MNS is a blunder,” said BJP leader Vinod Tawde.
