NCP (SP) won’t join hands with NCP for Pune civic polls till party workers’ doubts cleared: Sule

Pune, Dec 24 (PTI) NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule said on Wednesday that her party won’t forge an alliance with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP for the Pune civic polls until all the doubts and apprehensions of her party workers are addressed.

Speaking to reporters in Pune, Sule said they are in touch with the NCP, and potential repercussions will also be deliberated upon if both NCP groups decide to join hands.

About her party’s city unit president Prashant Jagtap’s disappointment over the possible tie-up with Ajit Pawar’s NCP for the January 15 corporation elections in Pune, Sule said she spoke to him at length and understood his apprehensions.

Sule said she assured Jagtap that no ideology or party policy would be compromised if “we join hands with the NCP”.

“Jagtap’s concerns were valid. His questions are absolutely valid,” she added.

Referring to past political developments, Sule recalled that her NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar was forced out of the Congress after he raised the issue of Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin, following which the NCP was formed.

“Later, Sonia Gandhi showed political magnanimity and came to Pawar saheb, offering him to join the UPA government,” she said.

“Politics has its ups and downs. No ideology or party policy will be compromised if we join hands with the NCP. I have given all these assurances. There is nothing lost in translation,” Sule said, adding that Jagtap is an important leader for their party and that she has explained the organisational structure to him.

No alliance has been finalised yet, she clarified.

“These are only discussions. In any strong democracy, dialogue and discussion are important,” she said.

Sule said she has not spoken to Ajit Pawar, who is also Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister and her cousin, yet. “I will speak to Ajit Dada only after listening to all party workers. I will not move ahead with any alliance until all doubts and apprehensions are addressed,” she said.

Asked that there are discussions that if the alliance between both the NCP factions take place, Ajit Pawar-led NCP might insist that NCP (SP) contest on their ‘clock’ symbol, Sule said that she has not received any such proposal, adding that it was obvious the NCP (SP) would contest on the ‘tutari’ symbol.

Elections to 29 civic corporations in the state, including the Pune Municipal Corporation, will be held on January 15, and votes will be counted the next day.

In the recently concluded municipal council and nagar panchayat elections in Maharashtra, the NCP secured 966 seats, compared to 256 by the NCP (SP).

To a question concerning the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-GRAM G) programme replacing the UPA-era Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Sule said it was the “finest” scheme the Congress had brought in India.

“We objected to two major things. One is changing the name and removing the name of Mahatma Gandhi. The other point is that the Government of India used to pay 100 per cent wages under the MGNREGA. But now it would be 60-40. How will the states be able to afford to pay this?” she said, adding that the move will hurt the poor. PTI SPK NR