NCP (SP) Won't Settle For Less Seats In Maharashtra Assembly Polls, Says Pawar In Party Meeting

Pawar held two meetings in Pune on Friday, one with the party's functionaries from Pune city and district and another with its MLAs and newly-elected MPs.

Maharashtra News: The Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP had agreed to contest fewer seats than its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies during the Lok Sabha elections, but things would be different in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls, Pune NCP (SP) chief Prashant Jagtap quoted party supremo Sharad Pawar as saying.

This comes after Pawar held two meetings in Pune on Friday, one with the party's functionaries from Pune city and district and another with its MLAs and newly-elected MPs. According to news agency PTI, Jagtap, who attended the first meeting, said Pawar told the gathering that the party contested fewer seats in the Lok Sabha elections just to ensure that the alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress remained intact. "He indicated that the picture in the assembly polls would be different," said Jagtap.

The NCP (SP) chief also reviewed the situation in assembly segments within the Pune, Baramati, Maval, and Shirur Lok Sabha constituencies, he stated.

A party leader who attended the second meeting said Pawar exhorted the MPs and MLAs to be prepared for the assembly elections, as reported by PTI.

No Decision Yet On Number Of Seats Sought By NCP (SP): Jayant Patil  

Speaking to reporters, Maharashtra NCP (SP) chief Jayant Patil said that the Pawar camp had not yet taken any decision on how many seats it would seek during the MVA seat-sharing talks.

As to the candidate for the Baramati assembly seat, currently represented by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, the head of the rival NCP, Patil, said Pawar senior would take the decision, PTI reported.

Responding to a question, Anil Deshmukh, another senior NCP (SP) leader, said that there was no "elder brother and younger brother" in the MVA. "All are equal," he said, as quoted by PTI.

There was a lot of nervousness among the MLAs who are with the Ajit Pawar-led faction after the results of the Lok Sabha elections, and some of them were calling Patil and other NCP (SP) leaders, Deshmukh claimed. "Let's see what is to be done with them," he added.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the NCP (SP) won eight Lok Sabha seats out of the 10 it contested, while the Ajit Pawar-led faction won only one of the four seats it fought for.