NCP's saffron tilt causes confusion

Mumbai: With the unfolding of events during Gujarat’s Rajya Sabha election and later the party’s recent boycott of attending the Opposition’s meeting convened by the Congress in Delhi has sent confusing signals to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) members in the state.

Leaders have admitted to their confusion in private, feeling as if the party is getting closer to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on a national level. Ironically, in the recently concluded legislative session of Maharashtra, it was NCP that aggressively targeted the BJP ministers. In the case of Radheshyam Mopalwar, the party seemed to go all out against chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

But considering the developments on the national stage, the whispers of the party supporting National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have started making rounds again.

The NCP leaders and workers in Maharashtra were taken by surprise when they saw their leadership boycotting the Opposition’s party meeting in Delhi. “It was shocking because in Maharashtra, we are working for a united Opposition. We are trying to get all the smaller parties on board and boycotting the meetings in Delhi won’t send out good signals in the state,” said a former NCP cabinet minister on the condition of anonymity.

When an alleged conversation of Radheshyam Mopalwar came out in public, it was the NCP that went all out against Mr Mopalwar, led by NCP leader Ajit Pawar. It seemed as if it were an attempt to distance the party from the regular allegation of supporting the BJP. However, the developments at the national level seems to be conflicting.