By TCN Staff Reporter,
Nagpur: Nagpur Municipal Corporation [NMC] witnessed a much peculiar alliance between two Parties, each historically representing two extreme poles –the Indian Union Muslim League [IUML] and Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP]. IUML used to call BJP, ‘a Hindutva fascist organisation’ and BJP since times haven’t missed out on a single opportunity to denote IUML as ‘a Muslim communalist organisation’.
Ishrat Ansari and Aslam Khan were the two IUML Corporators, who announced their support to BJP, so as to win single majority to the saffron party in the NMC. The NMC holds a total strength of 145 members out of which BJP have now managed to win 62 seats through alliance with IUML, Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh, Lok Bharathi Party, Republican Ekta Manj and nine other Independent Corporators.
The BJP led alliance known as Nagpur Vikas Agadhi [NVA], though made attempts to gain support from the 12 membered Bahujan Samaj Party [BSP] and 6 membered Shivsena , was not successful; but it is now believed that Shivsena would indirectly support them in the Mayor elections, to be held on March 5th. Congress with 41 Corporators will turn out to be the major opposition.
NVA convener and Senior BJP leader Anil Sole shared his opinion that, though their alliance with IUML may sound peculiar to most political observers in India, there is nothing much to be so astonished as he reveals that IUML was their close companion and almost their ally in the previous Panchayat and Assembly elections. BJP, legislator Devendra Fadnavis too was not reluctant in admitting Anil Sole’s statements.
The statement has its due importance in the wake of the fact that BJP candidates, in areas like Nagpur Central and Nagpur West assemblies has won their candidatures in the 2009 assembly elections, as Muslims are always a determining factor there.
It is believed that, the BJP President Nitin Gadkari took special interest in their alliance with IUML and he intends to ensure Muslim support in Nagpur, that too in a context where he is destined to fight his first candidature from Nagpur in the 2014 Loksabha elections.