NCP to adopt pragmatic approach in Bihar polls

PATNA: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will contest the state assembly election as a part of the RJD-JD(U)-Congress-NCP alliance, but it is not yet clear how many seats it will get in its share.
NCP national president Sharad Pawar said the party would adopt a pragmatic approach on seat-sharing with other members of the secular alliance -- RJD, JD(U) and Congress -- who have join hands to defeat the BJP.
Pawar said he would meet CM Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad to discuss the political scenario in Bihar. The seat-sharing issue would also be a part of the discussion on late Tuesday night. “We have one Lok Sabha MP (Tariq Anwar) from Bihar and we will contest from one seat in the state legislative council polls which will be held in July,” Pawar said, adding the party will have its candidates from a number of seats in the state assembly elections to be held in September-October. Pawar, however, did not specify the number of seats the NCP will contest in the assembly polls. Talking about Bihar, Pawar said the state and its people have potential to give a new direction to the nation. Talking about the anti-corruption bureau’s action against NCP leader and former deputy CM of Maharashtra Chhagan Bhujwal, Pawar said: “This is political vendetta against Bhujwal.”
Pawar attacked BJP MP Swami Adityanath, saying country is not the fiefdom of anyone. Swami had said that those who don’t believe in “Surya Namaskar” should leave the country. The NCP chief refused to comment on PM Narendra Modi’s one-year tenure in the office, saying it is not the occasion to discuss such issue. He, however, said late Indira Gandhi had played an important role in liberation of Bangladesh and nobody can deny it.
Apart from Pawar, NCP leaders Supriya Sule, Praful Patel, DP Tripathy, TP Peethabaram and Majid Memon are also here to attend the national working committee meeting of the party. NCP’s national convention, which is likely to be attended by party leaders from various states, will be held on Wednesday. The election of NCP national president and office bearers will be the agenda of the national convention.