By Haresh Jhala

Gandhinagar, Sep 25 (IANS): Murmurs have started among Congress workers in the two districts of Anand and Porbandar against any alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party. The party's district leadership says they are helpless before the decision of the national leadership. The local leaders' reservation is that an alliance with the NCP will damage the party more than benefit it.

The first such bugle was blown by the Porbandar District Congress Committee's former president Nathabhai Odedara. On Friday, addressing media persons he announced that he will not allow any alliance with the NCP. If the party goes for the alliance, he will work to damage the party's prospects on at least six to seven assembly seats where the Mer community has dominance. Odedara represents the Mer community.

Odedara is reportedly interested in contesting the elections from Kutiyana constituency, which goes to the NCP in the alliance and from where Kandhal Jadeja got elected for the last two terms as the NCP candidate. Jadeja has a criminal history, his mother Santokben Jadeja had got the nickname of 'Godmother'. He has voted in defiance of the party whip in the Rajya Sabha elections for BJP candidates instead of Congress candidates.

Porbandar District Committee president Rambhai Odedara told IANS, "We can at the most suggest to the party's state leadership not to ally with the NCP, the final call will be taken by the state or national leadership. The local workers are not in favour of an alliance with the NCP."

The problem with the NCP is that it does not have a grassroots presence, yet its state unit president Jayant Patel wants to contest from the Umreth seat falling in Anand district, which is a stronghold of the Congress. By allowing him to contest the Umreth seat, party leaders are discouraging party workers, explained Mahendrasinh Parmar, president of the Anand District Congress Committee.

He told IANS that Umreth constituency workers have conveyed their concern to the AICC observer for Central Gujarat, Ush Naidu. Parmar is of the strong opinion that the party should respect the workers' wishes. At the same time they also stated that they and the party workers will respect and abide by the party's state and national leadership's decision on any alliance.