Maharashtra polls: BJP may poach NCP, Sena MLAs to get majority in House

Mumbai: While the BJP is preparing to go it alone to form government in Maharashtra, many theories are being discussed in political circles and one of it is the possibility that the BJP may poach MLAs from other parties to reach the halfway mark in the House and consequently ensure a smooth five-year term. As of now, it appears that the BJP would form the government on its own with the support of smaller parties and independent MLAs. In the process, it will try to use the time to win more MLAs from other parties on its side, a political observer, who sought anonymity, told Firstpost. [caption id=“attachment_1766889” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Naresh Sharma/Firstpost[/caption] However, it would be difficult for the BJP to prove its majority despite getting the support of smaller parties and independent MLAs. BJP ally Rashtriya Samaj Paksha has also won one seat in the assembly. At present, there are a total of seven independent MLAs. The smaller parties that include Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi have 3 MLAs each and MIM has 2 MLAs. Others such as CPI(M), MNS, Samajwadi Party and Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh have one MLA each. While the MIM and SP are unlikely to support the BJP, the total tally of BJP with the support of smaller parties and Independents will go up to around 139 MLAs. So, in the present scenario, the BJP may accept the NCP’s outside support in case it falls short of majority. BJP strategists say that once they are settled in the government, they would try to poach a section of MLAs in opposition parties, either from NCP or Shiv Sena, to reach the halfway mark as it would help them to run the government smoothly for five years. Many in the political circles say that the BJP may go on the similar lines of ‘Operation Kamala’ used in Karanataka in 2009. The ‘Operation Kamala’ was undertaken to lure the opposition MLAs to defect to BJP to consolidate its position in the House. “If one third MLAs leave a particular party to join another party, then the anti-defection does not apply to them. So, there won’t be any re-election in the process and they can easily be part of the BJP led government,” the observer claimed. Some also point out to the BJP leaders’ opposition to allying with NCP. A section of BJP leaders, especially in the state, strongly feel that it would lose huge goodwill of the people of Maharashtra if they take up NCP’s offer. “It will send a wrong message to the public that we are shielding corrupt NCP politicians. Also, NCP can not be trusted and we never know when they will withdraw the outside support and bring down the government,” said a BJP leader requesting anonymity.