MUMBAI/KOLKATA/NEW DELHI/GUWAHATI : The opposition is trying to come together in at least three of the five poll-bound states in order to put up a joint fight against the BJP and dislodge it from power. Spearheading this attempt to stitch an alliance is the Nationalist Congress Party.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said his party will tie up with the Samajwadi Party in UP while in Manipur it will have an alliance with the Congress. In Goa, the NCP is in talks with Congress and the TMC to contest together.
Asserting that Uttar Pradesh is all set to witness a change, Pawar said, “The people of UP want to defeat the fascist forces. Therefore, all significant political forces will come together against the BJP and will defeat it.”
“On Wednesday, there is meeting all secular forces in Lucknow where the formal announcement on alliance and seat-sharing will be made,” Pawar said, adding that he will himself campaign in UP.
TMC MP Saugata Roy said party supremo Mamata Banerjee may also take part in the UP campaign as she had received a request from SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
In Goa, Pawar claimed his party has a base and senior NCP leader Praful Patel as well as Sanjay Raut from the Shiv Sena are in talks with the Congress for a larger secular alliance.
“We are also in talks with Mamata Banerjee-led TMC. ...We are hopeful for a secular alliance in Goa as well. There is a need to defeat the BJP government in Goa and all need to come together,” Pawar said.
TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy also indicated that his party was open to an alliance with the Congress. “Joining hands with all anti-BJP political forces is our supremo Mamata Banerjee’s stance that she had mentioned before. There will be no exception to this in Goa,” he said.
TMC in-charge for Goa Mohua Moitra had said the Congress and other parties should come together to combat the BJP. However, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said the party was not discussing any possible alliance with the TMC. AICC in-charge of Goa Dinesh Gundu Rao dittoed it. The Congress is hoping for an alliance with the NCP in Goa.
In Manipur, the NCP has decided to contest five seats and is in talks with the Congress. “NCP’s Narendra Verma had visited last month when it was agreed the party will support us,” Manipur Congress spokesman K Debabrata said.
Pawar on Tuesday said his party would contest the ensuing Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh as part of the Samajwadi Party-led alliance.
He also said 13 members of the Legislative Assembly in Uttar Pradesh will be joining the Samajwadi Party.
Talking to reporters here, Pawar said people of Uttar Pradesh are looking for parivartan (change) in the northern state, adding it will happen.
"Voters will give a befitting reply to the communal polarization being done in UP ahead of the polls," he said.
NCP will also contest the ensuing Assembly elections Goa and Manipur, he said.
In Manipur, NCP will have an understanding with the Congress, while in Goa, it is in talks with the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, he added.
Pawar slammed UP CM Yogi Adityanath over the latter's "80:20" remarks.
Yogi Adityanath has called the UP election an "80 versus 20 battle", in a highly controversial comment seen to imply a religious divide.
The numbers citied by him roughly correspond to the ratio of Hindus to Muslims in UP.
"Such remarks don't befit the stature of a chief minister. But that is their (BJP) ideology. People of UP will give a befitting response to such ideology," Pawar said.
On Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya quitting the state cabinet to join Samajwadi Party, Pawar said, "Maurya has made a new beginning. This won't stop here. Every day some new faces will 'migrate' in the run up to the voting."
Former UP Congress MLC Siraj Mehndi joined the NCP in presence of Pawar.
The NCP chief said the party will benefit from his experience.
(With PTI Inputs)