NCP wants Cong help for Maharashtra mayoral seats

NCP wants Cong help for Maharashtra mayoral seats

The Nationalist Congress Party on Monday expressed satisfaction over the Maharashtra civic poll results and sought support from the Congress to get its candidates elected as mayor wherever the party has gained enough seats.

NCP president Sharad Pawar held a review meeting of senior party leaders here that included deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar, RR Patil, Jayant Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal and Madhukar Pichod and discussed the civic poll results extensively.

The party, which has done well in some district councils but has failed to wrest control of Mumbai and Thane civic bodies from the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, has decided to ask the Congress that the two parties share power at the district level as well. It will propose that the Congress extend support to those NCP candidates who are in a position to become the Mayor.

However, at the same time it also criticised the alliance partner for working against its interest in some places like Yavatmal, Osmanabad, Nanded etc.

On the other hand, the Congress is feeling dejected over losing the Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections despite its alliance with the NCP, but has decided to collaborate with NCP in the selection of Mayors. The party has already started the process of introspection to fix the responsibility for the poll debacle in which infighting played a crucial role.

“We are not happy with the civic poll results as we expected it to be better,” AICC in-charge of Maharashtra, Mohan Prakash said. However, he said that the Congress is ready to collaborate with the NCP in district councils.

The leaders of the two parties had met in Mumbai on Sunday night to discuss the nuances of such collaborations in various district councils where the two parties had contested together, sources said.