NCP (SP) will not settle for less when sharing seats: Sharad Pawar

The NCP (SP) agreed to contest fewer seats than its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies in the Lok Sabha elections, but the situation would be different in the Assembly elections, a party leader has quoted its supremo Sharad Pawar.

Pawar held two meetings here on Friday, one with the party’s functionaries from the city and Pune district, and another with the MLAs and newly elected MPs.

City NCP (SP) chief Prashant Jagtap, who attended the first meeting, said Pawar told the gathering that the party was contesting fewer seats in the Lok Sabha polls just to ensure that its alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress remained intact.

“He indicated that the picture will be different in the parliamentary elections,” said Jagtap.

The NCP (SP) chief also reviewed the situation in assembly segments within Pune, Baramati, Maval and Shirur Lok Sabha constituencies, he said.

A party leader who attended the second meeting said Pawar urged MPs and MLAs to be prepared for the Assembly elections.

Meanwhile, state NCP (SP) chief Jayant Patil told reporters that the party had not yet decided how many seats it would get during the MVA seat-sharing talks.

As for the candidate for the Baramati Assembly seat, currently represented by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the head of the rival NCP, Patil said Pawar senior would make the decision.

Anil Deshmukh, another senior NCP (SP) leader, to a question said there was no “elder brother and younger brother” in the MVA. “All are equal,” he said.

There was a lot of nervousness among the MLAs who joined the Ajit Pawar-led faction after the Lok Sabha results, and some of them called Patil and other NCP (SP) leaders, Deshmukh claimed. “Let’s see what to do with it,” he added.

While the NCP (SP) won eight Lok Sabha seats out of the 10 it contested, the Ajit Pawar-led faction won only one of the four seats it contested.

First print: June 22, 2024 | 8:57 am IST