In an effort to win back its secular allies, the NCP today asked its units all over the state to sever ties with the Shiv Sena and BJP in local self-government bodies.NCP has an informal alliance with the saffron combine in Raigad, Kolhapur, Satara, Ahmednagar, Beed and Nanded civic bodies. The decision to snap ties is being seen as an attempt to appease the Left, Janata Dal (S) and Peasants’ and Workers’ Party, all of which had supported the coalition government when it was formed in 1999 but later pulled out due to various differences. After receiving a drubbing in LS polls and with Assembly elections close by, NCP wants the smaller parties to return to the coalition.
