Nationalist Congress party [NCP] has locked all the ways for the Congress party to break the alliance and demanded equal number of seats for the Assembly elections which are slated later this year. NCP has been demanding 144 Assembly seats as part of alliance with Congress out of 288 Assembly while the Congress is still tight lipped in this issue.

Former union minister Praful Patel said that old formula of seat sharing won't be applicable as conditions have changed in the state and at the national level. Congress leaders AK Antony and Ahmed Patel met NCP Chief Sharad Pawar and discussed about the seat sharing. Praful Patel was also present in the meeting who is very vocal in the seat sharing issue.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, NCP has won four seats while Congress is confined to only two. Initially NCP planned to go alone for the Assembly polls, but the Congress leadership did the damage control and pacified Sharad Pawar. However the alliance is still on the radar.

(AW: Vamshi)