Bal Thackeray, the Shiv Sena Supremo, has repeatedly called for a tie-up with the NCP in Maharashtra since some time. The NCP is a member in the ruling United Progressive Alliance at the centre as well as in the Congress-led state government in Maharashtra.

Sharad Pawar, the founder leader of the NCP, has his political base in Maharashtra where he shares the same vote bank with the Congress.

The Shiv Sena has had some bitter experiences in the recent past due to splits in the party. Narayan Singh Rane, a former chief minister, defected to Congress along with a few MLAs two years ago. The vertical split brought about by Bal Thackeray’s own nephew Raj Thackeray also considerably weakened the aging Sena supremo. Raj Thackeray started his own party in 2005.

Bal Thackeray began calling for an NCP-Sena alliance in 2005 when he openly expressed his wish in a function where Sharad Pawar was also present.

Pawar is also not opposed to the idea and has said after the recent Pune Municipal elections ‘I am open for alliance with any party, including the Shiv Sena.’ The two parties had formed an alliance to fight the municipal elections in Pune.

In fact, the two parties have worked with an understanding since some time. The NCP joined hands with the Sena and the BJP last year and got the industrialist Rahul Bajaj elected to the Rajya Sabha, defeating the Congress candidtae. Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule was also elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha as the opposition parties led by the Sena did not field a candidate against her.

The Sena supremo’s call for a full scale alliance with NCP may not sound good for Sharad Pawar who has his interests in the national politics. But in Maharashtra, where his party has to fight with Congress to maintain its political base, there are real possibilities of his Nationalist Congress Party forging an alliance with the influential regional party headed by Bal Thackeray.

Pawar’s recent gestures to the Sena and the Sena chief’s simultaneous call for an alliance appear to indicate that these two Maharashtrian political heavy weights may join hands in the near future.

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