MUMBAI: Sharad Pawar, president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and federal agriculture minister, said his party would only forge an alliance with Congress if the NCP is allotted 122 of the 288 seats in the forthcoming elections to the Assembly.
Pawar, who was speaking at a NCP office bearers’ meeting in Mumbai on Friday afternoon, said that if Congress did not comply then the NCP was capable of contesting the polls -— scheduled to be held in the last week of October — on its own strength.
He added that the NCP would give a befitting reply to Congress bully tactics. So far, the Congress has not officially announced its intention of forging an alliance with the NCP. Pawar, however, said that the NCP would not wait for long to know the Congress’ decision in this respect.
Meanwhile, battle lines are being drawn as polls near. The state is witnessing hectic politicking ahead of the Election Commission announcing the poll schedule with both the major rival alliances — Congress-NCP and Shiv Sena-BJP — yet to come out with their seat-sharing formula even as a Third Front is emerging. At the same time, Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has also become politically active with an intention to create a dent in the two alliances.
To woo votes, the Congress-NCP Democratic Front has announced many important decisions, while Shiv Sena and MNS have taken up the power tariff hike issue.
While earlier indications were that the poll schedule would be announced this week, it now appears that it would be announced after the end of the Hindu festival celebrating the elephant god Ganesh. The ruling Democratic Front in the meantime rushed through several decisions of public importance.
The Congress, according to sources, does not want to concede more than 100 seats to its partner.
