NCP cold shoulders Cong's alliance plan

 The Congress had earlier rejected a similar tie-up plan from NCP.

 NCP chief Sharad Pawar had stated that around three months back he had forwarded a proposal for a pre-poll alliance with the Congress which failed to elicit any response.

 According to a senior NCP minister in the Maharashtra Cabinet: "The trend has changed. Pawar had forwarded a proposal that envisaged a tie-up under which the Congress and NCP would retain the right to those Assembly seats currently held by them in Maharashtra. With both parties not contesting candidates against each other in these seats, the two parties could hope to retain them without a division of votes provided the anti-incumbency factor does not spoil their party."

 However, the original NCP proposal had suggested that for the remaining Assembly seats of the two lead partners in the DF government, the party that secured the second spot (lost to the SS-BJP or other party or independent candidates in the last assembly polls) be given the right to contest from the seat as a right.

 This proposal was not even considered by the Congress for three months prompting Pawar to once again raise the issue of Congress party president Sonia Gandhi's eligibility to be a prime ministerial candidate of India.

 Now, a volte-face has occurred with the Congress keen on effecting the pre-poll tie-up with the Congress on the basis of the same proposal. However, the NCP not seems to be interested in the proposal.

 A NCP minister told Business Standard: "The fact is that the political environment in Maharashtra has changed considerably in favour of the NCP that has experienced considerable improvements in the various elections held to the local self bodies. Considering this trend, we are confident that even though the last time round, as a newly formed party (the NCP) we could garner fewer seats we would do much better this time round. Obviously we are not keen to hand a bulk of the seats to the Congress in this light."