The advertisement released by BJP on the occasion of launching of election campaign states that for the victory of India in Kargil, the country needs the leadership of Atal Behari Vajpayee, while for building a strong Maharashtra, the state needs the leadership of Gopinath Munde.

The Sena leaders have not only expressed shock and surprise, but have also taken strong exception to the contents of the advertisement. ``At a juncture when we are talking of joint campaign and collective leadership, it was wrong on the part of BJP to promote Munde as the leader of Maharashtra,'' a senior Shiv Sena Minister pointed out.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Nirupamsaid if the ultimate aim of the advertisement was to promote Munde as the leader of Maharashtra, then the approach of BJP was wrong. ``So far as the alliance is concerned, we have only one leader - Bal Thackeray. Everyone has acknowledged that it was owing to concerted efforts of Thackeray, that the alliance succeeded in securing power in Maharashtra,'' Nirupam said.

Another Sena minister said, after the resignation of Manohar Joshi and installation of Narayan Rane, it was expected that the relations between the two parties will improve. In act, both Rane and Munde had decided to organise joint conventions followed by joint campaign meetings all over the state. However, while the joint convention could not take place for unknown reasons, now Munde has himself launched the election campaign. ``There is no mention of the Shiv Sena in the advertisement. We are irked by it, particularly in view of the promise of Munde that he will launch a joint campaign with Chief Minister Narayan Rane,'' the Ministeradded.

However, now from the state-wide campaign launched by the BJP, it appears that it has lost patience and it is now keen to occupy the top political post. ``We feel that the much awaited cold war has begun since BJP is keen to install Munde as the next Chief Minister,'' the Minister said.

Significantly, the BJP is not viewing the contents of the advertisement from such an angle. ``That is not the intention, and we don't want to hurt the Shiv Sena in any manner,'' senior BJP leader and Irrigation Minister Eknath Khadse said.

Khadse said since the advertisement has been released by the BJP, it has projected Munde as the leader of the party. ``So far as the BJP is concerned, Munde is our top leader in the state. However, for the alliance, there is absolutely no dispute about the leadership of Bal Thackeray. He is not only the undisputed leader, but also the main architect of the alliance,'' Khadse added.

No power cut, Munde assures erring farmers

OSMANABAD (MAHARASHTRA), JULY 9: MaharashtraDeputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde today assured that the electricity connections of farmers who have not paid their dues will not be disconnected.

Addressing a mammoth rally, while launching the BJP's statewide campaign, Munde, who also holds the Energy portfolio, said that the State Government or the Maharashtra State Electricity Board will not disconnect electricity connections of farmers. If electricity connections are disconnected, action will be taken against erring officials, he warned.

Later, talking to media persons, he however, clarified that the electricity would not be free and the farmers will have to pay the due charges. Since the response from the farmers was good and the State Government has realised about half the amount due of the total Rs 650 crore, the government has decided to allow usage of electricity to farmers.

Munde said that the cut-off date to pay the due charges was June 30, 1999 and added while 50 per cent of the charges due were waived off earlier, the farmers have paidaround Rs 160 crore.

He said that at this stage farmers are not in a position to pay the full charges, so the government has decided to allow farmers some more time to pay the same.