MUMBAI, January 15: High-Level attempts are on in the Shiv Sena to persuade party chief Bal Thackeray to reverse his stand on the candidature of defected Congress leader and former Railway minister Suresh Kalmadi from Pune Lok Sabha constituency.Kalmadi has announced that he will contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate from Pune and the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to support him by not fielding its own candidate.
However, Thackeray has said that a Shiv Sena candidate will fight Kalmadi if the latter contests as an independent. Kalmadi was supposed to meet Thackeray at his residence today in order to resolve the problem, but failed to keep his appointment.
Now, Kalmadi is scheduled to meet Thackeray some time next week. A senior Sena leader told The Indian Express that the issue would be solved amicably as efforts are on to persuade Thackeray to change his mind. The leader, requesting anonymity, said the Sena is likely to support Kalmadi.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
