Munde predicts a Cong split in Maharashtra

PUNE, February 10: Claiming that several disgruntled Congress leaders in Maharashtra were contemplating to leave the party to join the Bhara...

PUNE, February 10: Claiming that several disgruntled Congress leaders in Maharashtra were contemplating to leave the party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena alliance, Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde today said that he was playing a lead role in engineering the split.“I might be promoted to New Delhi as a recognition of the job done so far”, Munde said in a lighter vein.

However, he did not assert that a split in Congress was inevitable.Munde launched the poll campaign of Suresh Kalmadi, the former Member of Parliament.

Kalmadi is seeking re-election from the Pune Lok Sabha constituency as an independent candidate supported by the saffron alliance on Monday. Over 15,000 people including the party-members of BJP, Shiv Sena and Kalmadi’s Pune Vikas Aghadi were present at the huge rally held at the Tilak statue near Mahatma Phule Market.

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Munde, however, clarified that the party would accord a welcome only to those Congressmen who had a proven track record like Kalmadi and who wouldvouch to support Atal Behari Vajpayee to become the Prime Minister.

If there was any point that was repeatedly stressed by all the BJP-Shiv Sena leaders, including Munde, present during the three hour long marathon public meeting was that `a vote to Kalmadi was a vote to Vajpayee’.

Munde added that the decision to support Kalmadi was not finalised by Pramod Mahajan or Chief Minister Manohar Joshi alone, but by Vajpayee himself. He was confident that the traditional voters of the BJP-Shiv Sena would vote for Kalmadi.

“Victory of Kalmadi was assured when Balasaheb Thackeray also supported him”, he said.

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He also added, “ The BJP-Shiv Sena has Vachannama. Kalmadi has Vikasnama. The only thing which Congress can offer to people is apology”.

“Sharad Pawar should have dared to contest the elections from Pune”, Munde said adding that Vitthal Tupe, Congress candidate from Pune, was made a scapegoat by Pawar.