Congress may field non-political candidate for Council bypoll

Mumbai: The Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena might come together to support a single candidate for the legislative council by poll for the seat vacated by Narayan Rane after he quit the Congress. The Congress is planning to field a non-political candidate or one who will be acceptable to the NCP as well as the Sena. The party wishes to unite the opposition against the BJP for the council seat, the election for which will be held on December 7.

If Mr Rane decides to contest the election, the Sena will not support him but will support the opposing candidate. Taking into account the possibility of the opposition uniting against Rane, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not fielding Mr Rane this time and will ensure his safe entry in the legislature in the elections which will take place in July 2018.

But though Mr Rane is unlikely to contest, considering the simmering tension between BJP and its ally, the Sena, the Congress is planning to field a non-political and well known candidate which would be acceptable to both the Sena and the NCP, a senior Congress leader told The Asian Age. “That candidate may be a writer, poet, actor, social worker, doctor or a senior journalist. We are thinking about it,” Congress leader said.

He said the seat belongs to the Congress and if the opposition will not support a single candidate, the BJP candidate would win.  Hence to put up a strong fight against the BJP, the opposition is trying to get support from the Sena. Now all depends on Sena’s stand, whether it will support BJP or the opposition. If the party decides to field a secular, non-political, all party acceptable candidate, the opposition may support him also.

There is a lot of activity happening in the political corridors of the state.