The NCP (SP) has agreed to contest fewer seats than its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies during the Lok Sabha elections, but this arrangement will differ in the assembly polls, according to a statement by party leader Sharad Pawar on Friday.
Pawar held two meetings on Friday, one with the party's functionaries from Pune city and district, and another with its MLAs and newly elected MPs.
City NCP (SP) chief Prashant Jagtap, who attended the first meeting, said Pawar told the gathering that the party contested fewer seats in the Lok Sabha polls just to ensure that the alliance with Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress remained intact. He indicated that the picture in the assembly polls will be different, said Jagtap.The NCP (SP) chief also reviewed the situation in assembly segments within the Pune, Baramati, Maval and Shirur Lok Sabha constituencies, he said. A party leader present at the second meeting stated that Pawar urged the MPs and MLAs to ready themselves for the upcoming assembly elections. Meanwhile, state NCP (SP) chief Jayant Patil informed reporters that the party had not yet finalized its seat requirements for the MVA coalition discussions. Regarding the candidate for the Baramati assembly constituency, currently held by Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of the rival NCP faction, Patil mentioned that the decision would be made by senior Pawar.
Anil Deshmukh, another senior NCP (SP) leader, said to a question that there was no "elder brother and younger brother" in the MVA. "All are equal," he said.