Reason for Congress-NCP split will be clear now, claims Rashid Alvi

Congress Party leader Rashid Alvi on Monday said the NCP's decision to offer outside support to the BJP to form a government in Maharashtra will now bring forward the real reason behind Sharad Pawar-led party's decision to break its alliance with the Grand Old Party ahead of the assembly polls.

"This is the NCP's own decision. It would not be right for me to make any comment on it. It is an independent party and it can go with any party that it likes," Alvi told ANI here.

"However, one message gets clear as to what was the reason behind the NCP breaking its alliance with the Congress before the elections. Now, the people of this country will get to the know the reason behind the split of the alliance," he added.

With the BJP emerging as the single largest party in Maharashtra and yet falling short of reaching the halfway mark, the NCP yesterday offered its outside support in government formation in the state.

The BJP, which won 122 out of 288 seats in Maharashtra, is short of 22 seats to be able to form a government in the state.

However, it will be interesting to see whether the BJP decides to ally with its estranged partner Shiv Sena for government formation in the state.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had yesterday said that neither the BJP nor any other party has approached him to form a coalition government in the state. Thackeray, however, said the Shiv Sena will consider any proposal to ensure a stable government in Maharashtra.

The BJP and Shiv Sena, which last governed Maharashtra together from 1995 to 1999, broke their 25-year-old alliance ahead of the assembly polls over seat sharing.

The BJP has appointed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and party general secretary J.P. Nadda as its observers to decide leader of the legislative party in Maharashtra.