At least three United Progressive Alliance allies — the Trinamul Congress, the NCP and the DMK — have realised that they will have to fight the next general election on their own for different reasons.
If Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee is not depending on the Congress in West Bengal and thus ignoring the latter, top leaders in the Maharashtra Congress, including chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, have made it clear that the Congress will fight the next election without a pre-poll alliance with the Sharad Pawar-led party. And the DMK, which is virtually isolated in the ruling front at the Centre, is waiting for an opportune time to take a political decision.
The Dravadian Party is not even keen on getting two Cabinet-rank ministries following the resignation of A. Raja and Dayanaidhi Maran giving a clear indication that it is uncomfortable in the current set up.
If the Congress-Trinamul Congress fight in West Bengal has already come to the fore with chief minister Mamata Banerjee refusing to give any space to her parent party, in Maharashtra, Mr Chavan, Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh feel that the Congress, NCP should fight elections separately.
Interestingly, their statements made in the middle of the local body elections, have started a debate within the political parties.
The NCP feels the CM’s statement of no pre-poll alliance will help to prepare for the next electoral battle.
The Congress-NCP combine have been obliquely helping the Shiv Sena-BJP combine to ensure that their minority-dalit vote-bank should remain intact. The two Congress parties have virtually finished a secular alternative in Maharashtra and thus enjoying power since 1999.
The Shiv Sena-BJP, or even the newly-formed MNS, led by Raj Thackeray, cannot come to power on their own due to divisive politics and lack of a state leader.