No room for NCP in NDA, says Thackeray

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray made it clear Monday that the NCP cannot join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) now or after the Lok Sabh election.

Thackeray said NCP chief Sharad Pawar likes to keep all his options open "and will change course" once the election results are out, Thackeray told his party journal "Saamana".

"He seems to be veering towards joining the NDA. But Gopinath Munde, Ramdas Athawale, Raju Shetty, myself and others strongly objected, so his dream was shattered before the election itself," Thackeray said.

He expressed confidence that in the post-election scenario, the NDA would not need support from any other party, especially the NCP, to form a government.

"Even if required, it will not be possible to take NCP's (Nationalist Congress Party) support as it is facing the ire of the masses. It will be a betrayal of the electorate...

"The masses are agitated against the current government at the centre of which NCP is a part. Even Sharad Pawar is the target of public ire..."

Referring to Maharashtra's development, Thackeray lamented that none of the Congress-NCP MPs from the state ever raised their voice in Delhi.

On the other hand, "Shiv Sena MPs will roar like tigers in parliament", he said.

He reiterated that Manmohan Singh was the weakest prime minister India has had, and "we have been tolerating him for 10 years".