NCP gears up to contest all 288 Maharashtra seats

With uncertainty writ large over the fate of the Congress-NCP pre-poll alliance for the ensuing Assembly elections,the NCP is bracing itself to contest all 288....

With uncertainty writ large over the fate of the Congress-NCP pre-poll alliance for the ensuing Assembly elections,the NCP is bracing itself to contest all 288 seats in Maharashtra. NCP chief Sharad Pawar arrived in Mumbai on a three-day visit on Saturday to discuss the election with ministers,observers and office-bearers from his party.

Even after the election dates being declared,there is no sign from the Congress of forming a pre-poll alliance, a senior NCP functionary said. On the contrary,some Congress leaders are going public suggesting that there should be no pre-poll alliance. We are looking forward to an alliance to prevent the division of the secular votes,but we are also preparing ourselves to face the polls on our own,just in case the Congress dumps us.

He said when the Congress and NCP had contested separately in the 1999 Assembly election,the NCP had managed to win 54 seats while the Congress 75. Pawarsaheb can once again work the magic of the Progressive Democratic Front that happened in 1978 (when Pawar had toppled the Vasantdada Patil government) The only thing is that he will have to spend more time in the state, he said.

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Pawar reviewed the names shortlisted by ministers and observers in the Mumbai and Konkan regions on Saturday. He is scheduled to discuss the names in North Maharashtra,Western Maharashtra and Vidarbha on Sunday and those in the Marathwada region on Monday.

Meanwhile,the Congress has decided to hold its parliamentary board meetings from September 8 to 10 to discuss names of nominees shortlisted by district presidents and observers. On September 8,the board would discuss aspirants from Marathwada,Ahmednagar,Solapur,Kolhapur,Satara and Sangli; Mumbai,Konkan and Pune on the following day and Vidarbha and North Maharashtra regions on September 10.

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