Seat-sharing in limbo, Cong may go solo in Maharashtra

Even as the process of filing nomination papers for the coming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra begins next week, the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are yet to complete seat-sharing formalities.

On the contrary, the Congress has hardened its stand and wants to send out a tough message to the NCP that it will contest on its own if the latter is not ready for electoral compromise.

During a Congress party meeting in Mumbai today, many members insisted that the party should go alone in the state because the alliance with the NCP has ‘thwarted’ the party’s growth in the state. The members also criticised NCP president Sharad Pawar, calling him ‘untrustworthy’.

“No one can guarantee that Pawar will not go with the Third Front after the elections or join hands with the Shiv Sena,” said a party member.

The Congress has deployed two agencies to carry out a survey about how many seats the party can win if it decides to go alone in the elections.

Speaking with reporters after the meeting, state Congress President Manikrao Thakre confirmed that many of the party’s district-level presidents demanded that the party should go alone in the polls.