Munde exit may hit saffron plans

MUMBAI: In view of the urgency of the matter regarding Gopinath Munde's 'defection', the Congress high command has invited CM Prithviraj Chavan and MPCC chief Manikrao Thakre to Delhi on Wednesday. Asked about Munde being admitted to the Congress camp, Chavan quipped, "Wait and watch". AICC general secretary in charge of Maharashtra Mohan Prakash is already seized of the Munde issue.If satisfied with the Congress offer, Munde, a staunch BJP leader who has been in the party since its Jan Sangh days, is likely to take the final leap to the Congress camp.
NCP president Sharad Pawar has already ruled out the possibility of admitting Munde. He has said the party has nothing to offer to Munde who nurses ambitions of becoming chief minister of Maharashtra. Munde's detractors point out that during Pramod Mahajan's days, Munde had trampled on the toes of many senior BJP leaders and sidelined them in favour of the younger generation.
The tussle between BJP president Nitin Gadkari and Munde has been simmering in the BJP camp for a long time and it came to the fore when Gadkari was appointed national president. Munde, who developed a solid support base for the party among OBCs, began sulking saying his wings are being clipped due to personal
Although the Congress high command is willing to talk to Munde, the party wants Munde to take the first step so that the party can work out a formula for his political rehabilitation. Just before the last assembly elections, two senior leaders from the Shiv Sena-Narayan Rane and Raj Thackeray-left the party, helping the Congress-NCP combine to win the elections.
Now if Munde decides to walk out of the BJP, it will be a big jolt to the SS-BJP's plans for the coming elections, said a senior Congress minister.
Before leaving for New Delhi on Tuesday, Munde openly expressed his displeasure over the fact that he was not invited to the meeting of the Maharashtra BJP's MLAs and MPs held in Mumbai to discuss why he was being sidelined.