Congress, NCP will come 'closer', party will be unified: Sushil Kumar Shinde

Congress leader and former home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Tuesday hinted that the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will come "closer" in the near future and the INC would be unified.

Shinde made the comments at a campaign rally for an NCP candidate here, ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in the state. The two parties have joined hands to take on the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance.

"Ultimately, Congress and NCP, even if these two parties are separate, I tell you from this stage that these parties will come closer in near future and Congress will be unified," Shinde said.

Shinde went on to say that the foundation of Congress and NCP in the state was the same in the past and hence there is a chance of unification in the future.

"At one point in time, we have grown under the same tree. We have played in the lap of the same mother as we are people who have come forward following the leadership of Indira Gandhi and Yashwantrao Chavan," he said.

Assembly polls in Maharashtra will be held on October 21 and the results will be announced on October 24.