BOMBAY: Shiy Sena plans to wield the axe among the northern units in the wake of the drubbing it received at the polls. There are allegations that a majority of Sena candidates lost their deposit and Sena leaders themselves estimate that no more than a handful of the party’s 360 candidates would have won.

Party leaders who visited the area have prepared 4 Secret report on the candidates” performance during campaigning and will now decide on the aspirants the party can do without and the areas where it might as well close shop, “Now we know where we stand,” says Pramod Navalkar, a senior leader, He says that separated by distance, the Sena’s leaders in Maharashtra were not too familiar with their acolytes in the north.

“But this time many of us visited the area for campaigning and) we were able to judge our office-bearers’ organizational capacity. Now we have two yardsticks: their performance and l the pattern of voting. We have prepared a report which has been submitted to the chief Sena supremo Bala Saheb Thackeray). Some candidates can be changed, we may close some units.”

But by no means does the Sena regret having contested, going against the wishes of the Bharatiya Janata party, its electoral ally in Maharashira which had refused to go in for seat adjustment with it in the north on the ground that the Sena had no strength in the area, According to Navalkar, “now at least we will know where to make seat adjustments with the BJP, and where We are strong.” The seals where we candidates lost their deposit will go, in future, to the BJP.

“The Sena, fared as expected, the results are not at all disappointing. Our primary objective was to nurse: the constituencies in view of the forthcoming, corporation other local elections.” Party units mushroomed after the Ayodhya demolition and come ¢lection time “we were very liberal in distributing tickets, next time we cannot be.” So dismal was the Shiv Sena’s showing that its presence in the electoral fray does not even appear to have cost the BJP any Seals through division of Hindutva votes. The Scan and the BJP agree on this at least.

 

The BJP concedes that the Sena’s poor showing does not preclude any future success. “In 1962 for the first time the Jan Sangh contested all the assembly seats in Maharashtra, and all the candidates lost their deposit. Look where we are now,” says Shah.

Article extracted from this publication >>  December 10, 1993