NCP hints at plan to go solo in Maharashtra for LS polls
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders here on Friday hinted that the party would go solo in the 2014 elections in Maharashtra.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders here on Friday hinted that the party would go solo in the 2014 elections in Maharashtra.
Addressing the NCP workers, Union ministers Praful Patel and Tariq Anwar spoke of elevating party chief Sharad Pawar's position in the Union government by strengthening the party's position in the state in the upcoming polls. They also hinted at a political upheaval at the Centre in the coming months.
"We must start thinking about sharing 100% power instead of 50% in the state. In the country, there are only two to four leaders who have a national clout. Pawar is one of them. We need to maximise on this," Patel said.
He said it was unfortunate that single-state party leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalithaa were getting national attention.
Despite having Sharad Pawar as its leader, the NCP has not yet wrested the state in its control, he said.
"Ideologically, we are with the Congress and can continue to do so. But there is nothing wrong if we think about our party's growth,'' he said.
Deputy CM Ajit Pawar told the party workers that they should ensure that the NCP emerged as the single largest party in the state in the 2014 polls. In 2009, the NCP had fought the election in alliance with the Congress in 114 constituencies and won 62 of them.
A section of workers led by Ajit wants the party to contest all the seats alone in the polls.