10 June,2011 06:50 AM IST | | Varun Singh
A TURNOUT of 2.5 lakh at Azad Maidan despite heavy showers yesterday brought happy tidings for the Shiv Sena-BJP-RPI alliance and led to talk of the parties having the requisite support to win the BMC elections next year.
The rally was organised to protest against the central and state governments for their roles in corruption, price rise and dalit atrocities.
Uddhav Thackeray, Ramdas Athavale and BJP leaders on the dias during the rally
The biggest gainer, perhaps, was the Shiv Sena, a partner in the coalition which is ruling the current BMC, which had almost gone out of contention thanks to the MNS and other factors.
The RPI and Ramdas Athavale's entry, however, seems to have infused renewed confidence in the Sena ranks, which has made the opposition parties sit up and take notice.
So much so that the Congress and NCP, partners in the Democratic Front alliance which is in power in the state, have labelled the alliance an ATM one, after Athavale-Thackeray-Munde, as part of their attempts to stop people from flocking to them.
While senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde was conspicuous by his absence at the rally, other leaders made it a point to draw attention to the resurgent alliance and take potshots at the Democratic Front.
Vinod Tawade, senior BJP leader said, "This ATM will dispense money for the poor instead of the Congress-NCP ATM, which only takes money."
Ramdas Athawale, who managed to keep the audience glued with his oratory and drew applaud with his shayaris, said he had spent 20 years with the Cong-NCP alliance and would spend at least 10 with the Shiv Sena-BJP one, prompting Uddhav Thackeray to say that he would ensure the alliance lasted a 100 years.
Athavale, who was criticised heavily by the Opposition for giving up his ideology and going along with the Sena said, "I was with the Congress and NCP for a long time, but they never did anything for the community.
Hence, we have come to this alliance and we are sure that these parties will help us fulfil our promises and work for our community."
Long-term view
Senior Sena-BJP leaders said that the reason for bringing the RPI in was not the number of corporators they have in the BMC (three, against the Samajwadi Party's eight) but the party's vote share and draw with the dalits.
"It is not about the number of corporators RPI has in the current BMC but about the vote share. The RPI has a good base in most pockets which, when combined with that of the Sena-BJP, will surely affect the Congress and the NCP as both parties have decided to go solo in the elections," said a Sena leader.
