Now, NCP demands half seats for Assembly elections

Now, NCP demands half seats for Assembly elections

As Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena are stuck on the demands of 50-50 seat sharing, Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party may soon witness the same fight.

FPJ Political BureauUpdated: Friday, June 14, 2019, 06:58 AM IST
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NCP may contest all seats in BMC polls |

Mumbai: As Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena are stuck on the demands of 50-50 seat sharing, Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party may soon witness the same fight.

Buoyed by comparatively good performance than Congress in Lok Sabha election, NCP is aiming to secure 144 of the total 288 Assembly seats in the state under its quota. The party may share some of the seats from its quota with its allies.

NCP’s Mumbai unit President Sachin Ahir has openly demanded 50 per cent seats from Congress for Assembly elections. NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday heard views of party leaders and functionaries from districts in Maharashtra's Konkan region, including Mumbai and Thane, on the Assembly seats it can contest in the ensuing polls.

The meeting was attended also by senior NCP leaders Chhagan Bhujbal, Jayant Patil, Ajit Pawar and others. The Assembly polls are due in September-October.

In 2014, NCP and Congress fought election on their own. The NCP had fielded 34 candidates in Mumbai five years ago. Before that they were in alliance during 2004 and 2009 election. In Mumbai, NCP used to get 7 to 8 seats out of 36 Assembly seats.

“We want at least half the assembly seats in Mumbai. We may compromise on at least 12 seats – 2 each in six Lok Sabha constituencies in Mumbai,” added Sachin Ahir. Ahir’s demand is considered as response to the call of NCP President Sharad Pawar to strengthen the party in metros.

In the district-wise meeting held here, sources said, workers voiced their views on Assembly segments the NCP could field candidates in for the election the party will contest in alliance with like-minded parties.

Some of the functionaries also made presentation to the NCP chief to suggest about contesting seats the party had previously not fought from, they said.

“The figures from the latest Lok Sabha and previous Assembly elections are there before us. Pawar gauged which seats the party can contest in the Mumbai, Raigad, Thane and other districts from the region,” a source said. The source said the NCP already has a fair idea of its candidates who have the potential to win election.

“We already have 41 MLAs. There are around 18-20 of our candidates who had lost the previous election by a margin of 5,000 votes of less than that. So, we have at least 60-65 winnable candidates. Efforts will be made to win more seats than that,” the sources added.

When asked, Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil said Pawar will hold district-wise meetings with workers from different regions on Friday and Saturday. Next week, Pawar will meet workers on June 21 and June 23.

The NCP, which fought the 2014 Assembly polls independently after severing 15-year-old ties with the Congress, had fielded candidates in 278 segments and won 41.

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