The Hindu : Front Page : NCP seeks top post

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 18, 2004

Front Page

Front Page

NCP seeks top post

By K.V. Prasad

— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

MAN OF THE MOMENT: The Nationalist Congress Party president, Sharad Pawar, addressing the media in New Delhi on Sunday.

NEW DELHI, OCT. 17. The talks between the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party as to which party should lead the next coalition Government in Maharashtra remained deadlocked after two rounds of discussions here today.

Having emerged as the single largest party, the NCP claimed that the turn to head the Government rightfully belonged to it this time.

The Congress tried to rework the 1999 Maharashtra formula by including pre-poll grouping so that it could continue to lead the formation. And the NCP, it is understood, at one time took the position that the party may prefer to support the Government from outside.

Sources privy to the negotiations said tonight that the NCP chief, Sharad Pawar, indicated that his party could make a similar move at the Centre and extend outside support to the United Progressive Alliance. Sources in the Congress preferred to play it down.

Discussions today

The appointed negotiators, Ahmed Patel (Congress) and Praful Patel (NCP) are expected to renew their discussions tomorrow. Congress sources said that the State party leaders are likely to join the talks. Senior Congress leaders too met separately to find a way out.

The process of negotiation started this morning with Mr. Pawar calling on the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, at her 10 Janpath residence. Later, Mr. Pawar told correspondents an agreed formula of power-sharing, including sharing of portfolios, was already in place and had stood the test over the past five years. "We are ready to show our figures. Our position is good."

Mr. Pawar, who is under pressure from his party MLAs not to give up the NCP's turn for Chief Ministership, said that since the NCP emerged as the single largest party with 71 MLAs, it should head the Government. On the other hand, the Congress played the numbers game by including the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which won three seats and two Independents supported by it, taking its total tally to 74. The NCP's 72 seats include one won by the Republican Party of India (Athawale).

CPI(M) non-committal

On the other hand, the CPI (M) preferred to maintain a distance saying that it did not want to get into the question of which party should lead the formation. Today, the NCP leader, D.P. Tripathi called on the CPI (M) Polit Bureau member, Sitaram Yechury.

The Congress argued that comparison to the 1999 formula was incorrect since the party had no pre-poll pact then either with the NCP or others. This time, it said, under the pre-poll seat-sharing pact, the Congress was allotted 164 seats, in which it accommodated the Left parties. The NCP had given seats to the RPI (A) out of its allotted 122 seats.

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