Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls: NCP to contest from over 200 seats,

The Nationalist Congress Party will contest from over 200 seats in the forthcoming Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, senior party functionaries said Friday.

Polls for the 230-member MP Assembly is scheduled for November 28 and counting of votes will be taken up on December 11.

Senior leader and Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) member Rajendra Jain and the party's Gujarat unit spokesperson Nakul Singh Friday released the NCP's manifesto.

"We are trying to have a coalition with like-minded parties in the state. We will contest more than 200 seats out of the total 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh," the two leaders told reporters here Friday.

Referring to the party's manifesto, Jain and Singh informed that the NCP will provide free power and water to farmers besides waiving their loans.

The party will work towards real reforms in the state's education sector, the leaders said.

The party will ensure that crimes against women decreases and would deploy "marshals" in market areas for their safety, they said.

Claiming that the people of the state were facing a difficult situation due to the 15-year BJP rule, they said that the NCP would work towards generating employment for youth.

The NCP also promised to bring petrol and diesel under the GST regime to provide relief to people from skyrocketing fuel prices.