MUMBAI: Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Manikarao Thakre said here on Thursday that Congress would stake a claim for 192 out of the 288 Assembly seats in elections next month.
Thakre said that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) would have to forgo six assembly seats and that Congress would also stake claim to the three Assembly seats presently being held by the supporters of Revenue Minister Narayan Rane.
When asked if the Congress would forge an alliance again with the NCP for the forthcoming Assembly polls, Thakre said he has conveyed his views in this regard to Congress high command in New Delhi and that a decision would be made in "two or three days time."
Asked about the recent comments of Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh that the NCP should merge with the Congress, Thakre clarified that these were the personal views of Singh and not the official stance of Congress. Thakre also said that disciplinary action was taken against Congress workers who had worked against the NCP candidates during the recent Lok Sabha polls.
The NCP spokesman Madan Bafna dismissed the claim of Thakre that the Congress base has increased while that of the NCP has decreased due to the delimitation process. Bafna asked whether there has been an increase of Assembly seats from 288 at present due to the increase in the Congress vote bank base. He said even if the NCP has bagged lesser number of seats in the Lok Sabha polls, yet there has not been a significant change in the percentage of votes obtained between the Congress and the NCP.
