Don’t be dependent on NCP (SP) anymore, state Congress leadership tells local units

Pune: The Congress leadership told all its local units to expand the party's base in all districts without depending much on Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP) amid the outfit's efforts for merger with the other faction of NCP.

During a meeting of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) in Mumbai recently, the members emphasised on preparing to take on BJP on its own in the next elections, expected to be held in 2029.
"The party hoped for a better performance in the civic elections, but the outcome was not entirely disheartening. Congress went solo in many local bodies and managed to get a good number of seats, which was encouraging for the party. Therefore, the party is now stressing on preparations to go solo," one of the MPCC members said.

Sharad Pawar's NCP was in alliance with Congress in the state since its formation in 1999. NCP broke the alliance with Congress before the 2014 assembly polls, but these parties again formed an alliance in 2019. Even after the split in NCP, the Sharad Pawar faction of NCP stayed with Congress till date. Considering that NCP (SP) is now trying hard for its merger with another faction of NCP, the Congress leadership told its local units not to be too dependent on their ally anymore.

State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal admitted that Congress's growth in the state was hampered since 1999 because the party constantly remained in alliance with NCP. Our voters are divided between these two parties because of similar ideology and it is a loss for Congress. Therefore, in order to consolidate the party's position, Congress local units were told to work independently without bothering about NCP (SP)'s presence in their region," the MPCC member said.