Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, AICC president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and more than a dozen central cabinet members and AICC leaders are expected to personally campaign in the effort to ensure that the Congress retains power in Maharashtra.
"We want to tell the electorate in Maharashtra that we did not win the Lok Sabha polls by fluke, that the success was due to the popularity of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. In addition, we will also have an advantage due to the crisis in the BJP. We will ensure that the BJP does not get an opportunity to revive itself," he said.
Ever since the massive victory for the Congress in the LS polls, the party began preparing for the state assembly elections. Initially, there was a proposal to contest on its own, but after a senior Union minister stepped in, the Congress decided to join hands with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP. "We had contested the 2004 elections with the NCP. Since there was no+ change in the policy, we contested the recent LS polls with the NCP too. For the assembly polls also, we are reaching an agreement with the party," he said.
The Congress is more concerned with the emergence of the Third Front, comprising factions of prominent Dalit leaders. During the LS polls, the entry of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) helped the Congress-NCP win all six seats in Mumbai, but elsewhere Dalits were disappointed since two of their nominees, Ramdas Athavale and Rajendra Gavai, were badly mauled. Athavale lost to a Sena nominee in Shirdi and Gavai to a Sena nominee in the reserved Amravati constituency.
Since the LS polls, prominent Dalit leaders associated with the Congress for several decades and later with the NCP have deserted their parties and have not only formed the Third Front, but declared that they will contest all 288 seats.
A decade ago, the Mayawati-led BSP had entered the state's polls in a big way, but was unable to make an impact. However, this time the Congress-NCP is apprehensive due to the presence of the Third Front. "Owing to the presence of the MNS, there was a split in Sena-BJP votes in the LS polls, so our performance was better. Now, if the Third Front nominees enter the fray, the Congress-NCP will be at the receiving end, as the Dalit vote bank will not come to the rescue of the party," said the Congress minister.
The minister added that his party had taken note of the issues raised during the LS polls, particularly issues involving the sons-of-the-soil raised by the Sena and MNS. "We have drafted a new strategy. We will protect the interests of the sons-of-the-soil, but will also ensure that no harm is done to outsiders. Our manifesto will address all these issues," he said.