NCP letting PWP contest Konkan seat

Mumbai: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is mulling the option of letting the Peasant and Workers’ Party (PWP) contest the Konkan Graduate constituency of the Legislative Council. Reason being after the NCP’s MLC Niranjan Davkhare defected to the BJP, the party has no formidable candidate for the seat.

To save face and also strengthen ties with the PWP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha (LS) and Assembly elections, there is a strong voice within the party to let go of the seat. NCP chief Sharad Pawar will take the final decision. “NCP has not taken any special effort of enrolling voters in this graduate council. Our party was under the impression that our sitting MLC here would take care of it. Despite our leadership having been alerted, no voting enrolment was done from the party. So it has become tough for us to contest the election,” said a senior leader from NCP from Konkan.

To find a way out, NCP chief Sharad Pawar met all concerned leaders this week. A proposal to give the seat to PWP was also discussed. Another leader of the party said, “Recently, PWP has won the teachers’ council election from this constituency. So, it is easy for them to have a man-to-man campaign, which is the need of this election. This will also help the party in longer term. The proposal was discussed during the meeting with Sharad Pawar.”

Giving this seat to BJP will only take place after a clear alliance between the parties for the LS and Assembly elections.