Congress worries as NCP to contest 200 seats in Madhya Pradesh

Mumbai: Suspicion between Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is on rise after latter declares of contesting 200 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh (MP) elections.

Congress leaders are pointing fingers to this development as one more attempt of NCP leadership to help Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the crucial battle.

NCP’s demand of equal number of Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra is also being seen in this backdrop.

NCP’s MP unit has declared that it would contest 200 assembly seats in scheduled assembly polls. This has come after Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) Mayawati and Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Akhilesh Yadav decided to go without Congress in the central state. So, NCP too moving without an alliance has been taken with suspicions in the political corridors.

“At one hand Sharad Pawar speaks that these are very important polls for LS elections. On the other hand his party is contesting for so many seats. What does that meaning? Isn’t he indicating that all is not well with Congress?” asked a senior Congress leader from Maharashtra.

Mr Pawar’s recent statement on Rafale deal of aircrafts where he said that people don’t have doubts on intentions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been too supportive to the current suspicion in Congress.

“Madhya Pradesh BJP is on the verge of loosing this election. But Mr Pawar’s move would cut the votes for Congress,” said a senior Congress leader.

Meanwhile, NCP’s natio-nal spokesperson Nawab Malik denied that the claims of the party contestig on its own. “We are in talks with Congress, so let’s wait till the outcome,” said Mr Malik.