The Nationalist Congress Party today said it has demanded the Latur-Beed-Osmanabad"local bodies constituency from the Congress ahead of the May 21 biennial election to the Maharashtra Legislative"Council.
"We want to contest from the three seats -- Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Nashik and Parbhani-Hingoli -- which we currently hold, as well as from Latur-Beed-Osmanabad," state NCP chief Sunil Tatkare"said at a press conference here.
His party has more numbers in the local bodies of Latur, Beed and Osmanabad"than the Congress, Tatkare claimed.
"We hear that sitting Congress MLC Dileep Deshmukh, brother of late chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, is not keen on"re-contesting. This seat was"with us earlier, but when Vilasrao was chief minister, he wanted the seat for his brother," Tatkare said.
"Dileep Deshmukh has held the seat for 18 years," the NCP leader added.
Talks for alliance with the Congress for the May 21 polls are underway, he said.
"Final decision will be taken in two days. We will abide by whatever decision our central leadership takes," Tatkare said.
Elections for six council seats whose terms are expiring -- Amravati, Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli (both held by the BJP), Parbhani-Hingoli, Raigad-Ratnagiri "Sindhudurg and Nashik (all three held by the NCP) and Latur-Beed-Osmanabad (held by Congress) -- will be held on May 21.
Asked whether the Shiv Sena, the bickering ally of the ruling BJP, would be a part of the Congress-NCP alliance in future, Tatkare said he saw no such possibility.
"The Sena will have to make clear its political stand," he said.
The new state NCP chief"will be chosen on April 29, Tatkare said.
"I have been heading the state unit"for last four years. Groundwork for the next year's elections has been done. Now the reins should be given to some other competent leader," Tatkare said.
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