The NCP on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of either joining hands with the Shiv Sena for assembly polls in Maharashtra or merging with the Congress.
MUMBAI: The NCP on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of either joining hands with the Shiv Sena for assembly polls in Maharashtra or merging with the Congress.
"Ours is a secular party and there is no way we could ever join hands with the Shiv Sena, nor would the NCP merge with the Congress as we are the single largest party in the state," state party president Arun Gujarathi said, setting at rest speculation on this score.
He made it clear that the NCP would not have electoral ties with the Shiv Sena as his party was diametrically different from the Sena in terms of ideology.
Gujarathi said, "We are wedded to secularism while Shiv Sena is not. This makes us very different in terms of philosophy and political principle and hence there is no way that we can have any electoral alliance."
"I want to say that there is no chance at all of the NCP having any sort of tie-up with the Sena in the event of any break up of the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance," Gujarathi said.
Playing down the simmering differences between the Congress and the NCP on a host of issues, Gujarathi said, "In the last three years in the cabinet, nothing was so hot between the Congress and NCP that has warranted any break up of our alliance."
He said irrespective of the different perceptions of the NCP and Congress on some issues, 'by and large, we have commonality in terms of secularism'.
Gujarathi said, "Our priority is to fulfil the commitment which we made to the people in our election manifesto."
In a jocular vein, he said, "Though as a government we are together in Maharashtra, it should not be a matter of surprise if the Congress or the NCP tries to increase the tally of their MLAs."
On a report by the Maharashtra unit of the Congress that blamed NCP chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar for the woes of farmers, Gujarathi said, "It is highly improper on the part of the Congress to put the blame on one person. If at all, one has to blame, then the whole cabinet has to be blamed."
The NCP, he noted, has always been pro-farmer.
Referring to the differences between the Congress and the NCP on the implementation of the Srikrishna Commission's report, Gujarathi said, "We firmly believe the report should be implemented in letter and spirit."
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