NCP to form secular front without Congress

In an apparent bid to give pinpricks to major ally Congress, the NCP today announced that it would form a secular democratic front in poll-bound states like Kerala and Assam.

But the NCP tied itself up in knots when it said it would protest against the Union government, of which its leader Sharad Pawar is a part. “We would like to be with the Congress but Congress does not want us to be with them... If Congress does not give us space, we will try to find our own space,” NCP General Secretary D P Tripathi told reporters here.He said the NCP would forge an alliance of secular and democratic parties in various states, particularly in Kerala and Assam, where elections are due next year.

Tripathi said the NCP was now a part of the Left Democratic Front in Kerala and would contest elections jointly next year.

NCP could also explore options in Andhra Pradesh where Jagan Mohan Reddy is going ahead with his Odarpu Yatra despite objection to it from the Congress high command.

Taking its bitterness with Congress to new lengths, Tripathi said the party would be part of the LDF protests in Kerala against price rise.

But when confronted with the fact that the Left protests were against Pawar’s handling of the price issue, he sought to wriggle out saying “the protests are not against an individual but against the UPA government”.

‘Haven’t sought more ministerial berths’
Pawar said in Mumbai he had not demanded additional ministerial berths for his party leaders or his MP daughter Supriya Sule, in the Union ministry. “I haven’t demanded any additional berths,” Pawar said in an informal interaction with the media on Thursday night after being felicitated on being elected the International Cricket Council president.

On his request to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ‘reduce his burden’, the NCP chief said he had asked for a reduction in his portfolios to focus on strengthening his party’s base.