The NCP today spelt out its terms for a pre-poll alliance with the Congress by demanding 50 per cent of the total seats in Maharashtra for the forthcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. However, it hastened to add that it was open to discussion.‘‘We will not settle for anything less,’’ NCP spokesman Praful Patel said on Monday. He confirmed that his party would ask for 144 Assembly seats and 24 LS seats (out of the total of 288 Assembly and 48 LS seats respectively).After Congress president Sonia Gandhi announced that her party was open to the idea of a pre-poll alliance with the NCP, there has been much jubilation in both the camps. However, Patel, who is also considered a trusted Pawar aide, took a cautious approach, saying the party would have to debate on the pros and cons of the proposal.The NCP’s demand for 50 per cent of the seats evoked a cautious response from Congress Minister of State for Home Kripa Shankar Singh who said the NCP should not adopt such a ‘‘rigid’’ view.In his view, senior Congress and NCP leaders, along with like-minded parties including the RPI, Janata Dal and the PWP, should deliberate on seat-sharing before deciding on the number of seats a party should contest.‘‘All partners of the DF alliance should be flexible. We have a common goal to defeat communal forces. If any party adopts such a rigid stand, it’ll be a wrong approach,’’ said Singh.Patel said the Congress is concentrating on an alliance in Maharashtra, but the NCP would also have to look at the ground realities in Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh before deciding on an alliance. ‘‘We have a significant presence in these states, we have to consult party leaders in these states before taking a decision,’’ he said.
