Pawar rebukes Shinde for suggesting Cong-NCP merger, says he should limit views to own party

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday slammed Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde for suggesting that NCP and Congress will unify in future and said that it is only his sole discretion to make decisions and speak about his party's future.

"Congress and NCP are working together in an alliance in the state. Sushil Kumar Shinde can present Congress's views but not of the NCP. I am the national president of NCP and nobody knows the status of my party better than me," Pawar told reporters at a press conference here.

Pawar was speaking on the comment made by Shinde earlier on Tuesday where the latter said that Congress and NCP will unify in the future.

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.

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