Mumbai: NCP legislators at a meeting chaired by party chief Ajit Pawar on Thursday were told to step up outreach with the Muslim and Dalit communities and also increase communication with the politically influential Maratha community in the run-up to the state Assembly elections.
The instructions came following the party’s debacle in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections.
The legislators were also asked to take the farming community into confidence on the issues relating to onion, soybean, and cotton, which impacted the poll prospects of the MahaYuti (the BJP-NCP-Sena alliance) in the general elections. The NCP won one seat while the MahaYuti bagged 17 seats against the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)’s 30.
A senior party functionary said, “The legislators shared the factors that went against NCP nominees and also against the MahaYuti candidates. The anti-incumbency against sitting MPs and also against the Central government was one of the major factors. This apart, the MahaYuti nominees were hit badly due to the narrative set by the Opposition that the Constitution will be changed if BJP voted to power for the third time. Muslims, Dalits and tribals voted against the NCP and the MahaYuti in general. The protests over Maratha and OBC reservations created a divide between the two which went against the MahaYuti. The legislators pressed the need for corrective steps to avoid further damage in the Assembly polls.”
The legislators suggested that the state government needs to roll out schemes with hefty financial allocation to help the Maratha, Dalit and Muslim communities apart from allaying their fears about the change in the Constitution.
Meanwhile, at least six MLAs were absent from the meeting. However, the party claimed that all MLAs had informed the leadership about the reasons for their absence from the meeting.
The meeting was held amid speculations that a set of MLAs planning to switch to Sharad Pawar’s NCP. The meeting lasted for more than three hours as all MLAs were asked to explain their experiences of the recently held Lok Sabha elections and plans for the upcoming Assembly elections.
MLAs who were absent from the meeting include Sunil Tingre, Rajendra Shingne, Anna Bansode, Babandada Shinde, Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal and Minister Dharmarao Atram.
According to party spokesperson Umesh Patil, Shinde and Atram were ill while Shingne and Bansode had conveyed their inability to attend the meeting due to prior commitments. Zirwal is presently in Russia on an official tour. Tingre, who chose to not come in front of the media, was discussed during the Pune hit-and-run case.
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