Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday junked the media reports about the merger of the NCP and Congress after a poll disaster. ‘Our party has its own identity and will continue to have it’, Pawar said in a meeting. He added, ‘Rumors and speculations about a merger of NCP with Congress are false.
He further said that it is done by some journalists who do not want us to work as an ally.
Pawar who called a meeting of NCP core committee on Saturday raised the issue of alleged EVMs.
The meeting was called to deliberate upon the reasons behind the party’s poor show in recently concluded national polls. The meeting which was attended by the party’s top brass also discussed the future plans of the party for Maharashtra State Polls, slated for November.
The rumors about a possible merger of two parties had begun after Congress chief Rahul Gandhi met Sharad Pawar in Delhi after the Lok Sabha results. However, Pawar had maintained that they discussed matters pertaining to the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha Elections and the drought situation in Maharashtra.
Congress President Mr. @RahulGandhi met up with me today at my residence in Delhi. We discussed matters pertaining to the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha Elections and the drought situation in Maharashtra. pic.twitter.com/SUQHzjAbOB
— Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) May 30, 2019
Slamming the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Sharad Pawar also accused BJP of making efforts of destabilizing the governments in three states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh – where it lost to power in December last year.
Asking all the leaders to prepare for the State Polls, Pawar said NCP will give chance to many young faces and fresh faces. While NCP State Chief Jayant Patil said that, ‘NCP Boss Pawar Saheb will celebrate his 79th Birthday in December, We should gift him 80 MLAs in Maharashtra State Polls.
Reviewing the party debacle in the national polls, many NCP Candidates asserted that Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Agadhi cut into their votes.
It should be noted that Both – Congress and NCP – forged an alliance in the state in the national polls. However, the alliance faced a humiliating defeat by the BJP–Shiv Sena combine. In the state that sends 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha Polls, NCP-Congress could only bag 5 Lok Sabha Seats with NCP winning 4 seats while one seat won by the Indian National Congress.
While NCP even failed to score in Maval Lok Sabha Seat from where Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar was making his electoral debut. Ajit Pawar had made Maval Lok Sabha Seat a prestigious battle for the party.
Bharatiya Janata Party along with its ally Shiv Sena swept the polls in Maharashtra by bagging 41 seats out of the total 48 Lok Sabha Seats on the state.
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