Cong repeats demand,NCP rubbishes ally’s success rate claim

“The people’s mandate is in our favour as 82 MLAs of our party have been elected,” Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Manikrao Thakre said on Saturday,“Hence,we want more seats in the council of ministers. Our proposal is that the Congress should get the chief ministership and 24 ministerial berths,and the NCP 18 berths.” He said negotiations were on with the NCP and the differences would be sorted out in a couple of days. He hoped that by Monday,the Cabinet would be sworn in.

However,a senior NCP leader rubbished the Congress claim of its success at the hustings,saying,“if you consider the number of seats contested and won,you will find that our success rate is more than that of the Congress. Their claim is baseless.”

He pointed out that the Congress had contested 174 and won 82,while the NCP had won 62 of 114 seats it contested.

The NCP is demanding that the 1999 formula,in which the Congress got the chief ministership and 21 ministerial berths while the NCP got 21 berths,should be followed. “In 2004,we emerged the single-largest party,winning 71 seats,while the Congress had won 68; but we still gave them the chief ministership and 24 ministerial berths,” the NCP leader said,“Now it is their turn to return the generosity.”

Meanwhile,NCP chief Sharad Pawar met MLAs and delegations of party workers canvassing for inclusion of their newly-elected MLAs in the council of ministers. The NCP leaders said the negotiations for portfolio sharing would commence again after Praful Patel returns from his Istanbul visit on Saturday night.