Sena seeks to yoke Sharad for better harvest

PUNE, January 3: Shetkari Sanghatana leader Sharad Joshi finds himself on the horns of a dilemma. His plans to contest the Lok Sabha seat fr...

PUNE, January 3: Shetkari Sanghatana leader Sharad Joshi finds himself on the horns of a dilemma. His plans to contest the Lok Sabha seat from Khed as an independent candidate with saffron backing have gone haywire because the Sena-BJP combine is insisting that he will have to accept a Sena ticket from his home constituency if he wanted their support.

Joshi, Sena sources reveal, has emerged as a strong candidate for the BJP-Sena leaders who have responded to his appeal for support. With the Khed seat going in favour of Sena under the seat-sharing agreement reached between the saffron parties, top Sena leaders are now saying that Joshi must insist on his going it on a Sena ticket in exchange for their support.The initial negotiations, sources reveal, have run into rough weather with Joshi adamant that prefers remaining an independent candidate.

But Sena leaders feel that Sharad Joshi is being stubborn because he is not sure whether his workers (he still has a large following in parts of Maharashtra) would accept the idea of him joining the Sena.

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The sources said top Sena leaders are in a mood to rope in Joshi because his candidature can change the Sena image. To have a friend in Sharad Joshi, a farmer leader who sits with the State’s intelligentsia, is just the tonic the Sena needs.

Besides, adjustment with Joshi would also deflate the criticism by Congress, particularly Pawar, that the alliance was biased against ryots.

The Sena leaders also expect BJP leaders to accept Joshi’s proposal as several BJP leaders enjoy a good relationship with the farmers’ leader.According to available information, Sena leaders are exploring the possibility of a broad-based state level agreement with Joshi, who had floated his own political outfit, Swatantra Bharat, few years back. The party leaders believe that an understanding with Joshi would brighten alliance’s prospects in Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.

The Sena leaders feel that Sharad Joshi would prove extremely helpful for the party in Vidarbha, where the Sena is making a desperate attempt to make in-roads into the BJP strongholds. The party leaders also feel the necessity of an influential leader like Joshi because Cong leaders are trying to field a single candidate against the alliance to prevent division of the anti-Hindutva votes.