PUNE, March 20: Suresh Kalmadi's Pune Vikas Aghadi (PVA) appeared to have emerged the front runner for mayoral polls, having reportedly settled the issue of sharing important posts at the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena combine.All eyes were on Kalmadi, who arrived in the city on Thursday evening. A closed door meeting of the PVA corporators was underway late night at Kalmadi House. The PVA leaders were scheduled to hold a separate meeting to finalise the electoral pact with the saffron allies at a city hotel tomorrow morning prior to the polls scheduled at 3 pm.
Speculations were rife on the civic corridors that Kalmadi would be making a final choice between Deepti Chaudhary and Vatshala Andekar, though the PVA had also nominated Anjani Nimhan for the post of mayor. The deputy mayorship was likely to go the BJP's way, since the PVA had reportedly agreed to the Sena's claim over the post of standing committee chairman.
The Congress was expected to fieldKamal Dhole-Patil, although, it seemed to have resigned to the fact that the mayoral post was out of reach, particularly, in the wake of reports that the PVA, BJP and Sena would be emerging as a combined force at the polls.
The Congress' electoral truck with the Republican Party of India (RPI) too appeared on a shaky ground. The PVA leadership had apparently revived talks with the RPI corporators, though at an informal level, striking a virtual body blow to its principle rival on the civic corridors.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
