Mumbai, Aug 31 - Buoyed by the victory in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance in Maharashtra is confident of taking on the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (SS-BJP) combine in the Oct 13 assembly elections.

In sharp contrast, discontent prevails in the SS-BJP camp as poll dates were announced Monday.

However, the ruling Democratic Front (DF) alliance is wary of the newly-united Third Front and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

While the Sena and BJP have finalised their poll alliance, the many small parties also have cobbled up a Third Front. But the MNS' strategy is still unclear - whether it will go alone or support the ruling DF or the saffron alliance.

Though the Congress and NCP have been dilly-dallying over their plans to contest the polls jointly, Chief Minister Ashok Chavan dispelled speculation of any discord when he told mediapersons Saturday: 'We are confident of working out an alliance with the NCP very soon.'

In sharp contrast to the enthusiasm in the DF, which is hoping to secure a third consecutive term, is the atmosphere of gloom in the BJP that is currently in the midst of a severe leadership crisis at the national level.

Highlighting the discontent in the BJP, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, in a scathing editorial in party mouthpiece Saamna Monday remarked that 'the BJP is suffering from the deadly swine flu', and like Emperor Akbar's parrot it is a dead party 'but no one has the courage to point it out.'

The Third Front, in which around 15 Republican parties and factions have joined along with the workers, farmers and other groups has decided to contest all the 288 seats in the state, as also the MNS.

In the last elections in 2004, the DF had bagged 139 seats against the SS-BJP's 119.

The NCP had emerged as the single largest group with 71 legislators, followed by Congress with 69, the Sena got 62 while BJP got 56, while Independents and other parties won 30 seats (total 288).