Mumbai, Dec 23 Commenting over speculations about the reunion of the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party in the 29 municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra, NCP-SP Working President Supriya Sule, said on Tuesday that she has not received an official proposal from any of the two parties.
"While various discussions are ongoing, it is inappropriate to comment until a final decision is reached," Sule added.
"No official proposal from any party has reached me yet," she said.
Sule confirmed that seat-sharing talks within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are in their final stages.
"Our discussions with Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena-UBT are ongoing in Mumbai, and we are scheduled to meet again today. Our primary goal is to ensure that the MVA -- including both Thackeray brothers (Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) and the Congress -- fights unitedly to prevent the division of votes."
She said that that the upcoming municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra are centered around the NCP-SP workers and the citizens.
"The welfare of the workers and the development of Pune will be the focal points of any decision we take," she added.
"The party operates on democratic principles and no major decision regarding alliances will be made without taking political leaders and workers into confidence," she noted.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Sule addressed recent speculations regarding internal rifts and potential political tie-ups.
Addressing rumours about the Pune City NCP-SP President Prashant Jagtap's resignation, Sule said, "I have not received any resignation from Prashant Jagtap, nor has the State NCP-SP President Shashikant Shinde informed me of any such development. I had a two-hour discussion with Jagtap only yesterday."
The NCP-SP Working President said that the party's priority remains the interest of the people and the development of the state.
Sule stressed that transparency and internal dialogue would remain the hallmark of their decision-making process as they approach the final phases of alliance negotiations before the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.
Meanwhile, State NCP-SP Chief Shashikant Shinde told reporters that the party has decided to contest the BMC elections as an ally within the Maha Vikas Aghadi.
"Our Mumbai NCP-SP President and the party's Core Committee are holding discussions with all parties except the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena. Simultaneously, talks are also underway with the Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena. We held a meeting yesterday as part of these ongoing discussions. There are some slight differences and specific demands regarding certain seats. We will be holding another meeting today to address these. After today's deliberations, we have firmly decided to contest the Mumbai elections as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)," he added.
Shinde also said, "During the meetings I conducted in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad to gauge opinions, many party office-bearers and aspiring candidates expressed that it is necessary for us to form an alliance with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction in those areas. Consequently, discussions on that front took place yesterday. Today, we had preliminary talks with our office-bearers. While these discussions progress, we are working toward a consensus on candidacies to ensure that our people are not treated unfairly. A final decision regarding the alliance can then be reached."
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