PUNE: The Republic Party of India (RPI) will contest the upcoming municipal elections in the state in alliance with the BJP on the latter’s party symbol, Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment and RPI chief Ramdas Athawale said.
“Joining hands with the BJP will be a win-win situation for both the parties. So, we will have a coalition with the BJP in the civic polls,” he said, while addressing a news conference here on Friday.
Athawale said that his party wants a separate municipal corporation for the 23 villages newly merged into the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits.
He said some more villages can be added into the municipal limits if a new corporation is created. A separate corporation needs to be formed to cater to a population of around 40lakh, Athawale said.
The RPI chief said that he has appealed to the Shiv Sena chief to join hands with the BJP and form a government. The chief minister’s post can be shared between the two parties for two-and-a-half years each, he said.
Athawale said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) does not have a good future together due to the internal rift. The parties in alliance are already talking about fighting the polls on their own. The ruling MVA is not conducting election to fill the Speaker’s post in the assembly as it is afraid of losing the polls. The Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are afraid that their MLAs will indulge in cross voting in the election. “If this happens, the post of chief minister will be in danger and he will have to resign. So, the ruling parties are avoiding the election,” he said.
Athawale said that the issue of political reservation for other backward classes (OBC) will be taken up. A notification regarding it can been issued by the Union government to facilitate reservation.
“The whole census process can be carried out based on caste. This process will not promote casteism but make the picture of each caste clear,” he said.
