New Delhi, Dec. 20: Sharad Pawar has told close aides that his party had failed “miserably” to use conducive conditions to broaden its base – the acknowledgement injecting more relevance to the question whether the NCP should merge with the Congress.
Leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party were told by Pawar over the past two days that he was concerned that the party would not grow unless it can attract youngsters, sources present at the meetings told The Telegraph. The party believes that the stagnating cadre base is preventing it from cashing in on the political space created both in Maharashtra and nationally by the BJP’s decline.
“He (Pawar) was very categorical. He said the party must accept that it had failed miserably in utilising conditions — including the fact we have enjoyed power — to build a broader base,” an NCP leader said.
The question of an eventual merger with the Congress has been dogging the NCP since the resurgence of the oldest party in the country in recent years.
Many consider the merger a matter of time, waiting to fall into place once Pawar strikes a bargain with the Congress to ensure that his daughter Supriya Sule, who has “inherited” his Baramati fief, is accommodated suitably. The growing ambitions of his nephew, Ajit, have also made Pawar wary of letting the party remain a stand-alone entity in the future, other sources said.
The failure to use opportunities was raised at the fourth national convention of the party held here over the weekend. The NCP, which was formed as a breakaway from the Congress in 1999, turned 10 this year.
Although the NCP is a national party under the Election Commission’s definition and has a political presence in 12 states, it is a decisive player only in Maharashtra and some Northeast states.
Pawar, it is learnt, told party leaders that the NCP must accept that it had performed “well below expectations in the Lok Sabha”.
“He said that we should have increased our tally but instead came down by one seat (from 10 to nine),” a source said.
Pawar, the source said, was unhappy at the response the party received through a recent mass mobilisation drive launched across the country, and asked state leaders to work harder to attract the young.
The organisational resolution adopted today by the national convention also details the NCP’s concerns over its inability to expand.
The resolution states that “we have not been able to fully utilise” the “pro-people” policies of the NCP and Pawar’s popularity and in converting “popular support we have into means of expanding our base”.
A “lack of sufficient trained workers for organisational work at the grassroot level for carrying out propaganda, for taking up public causes and leading agitation” has been identified as a problem.
The resolution lists a number of steps for the party to expand its base, including conducting regular “training programmes” for local party leaders.
Training party cadre in the policies of the NCP and on how to lead agitations and mobilise support would help expand the party base, founder member Tariq Anwar argued at the internal meetings, sources said.