Maha: District Units To Decide On Alliance For Civic Polls, Says Praful Patel

(MENAFN- IANS) Gondia, Sep 29 (IANS) NCP working president Praful Patel on Monday said that even though NDA and MahaYuti will together contest Lok Sabha and state assembly elections, local and civic body polls are different, and party workers have aspirations to fight them.

The local units will decide whether to go solo or in an alliance, he added.

“Workers of the party nurture aspirations to fight the local elections. The NDA and Mahayuti have contested Lok Sabha and assembly polls together and will continue doing so. It is not possible to form alliances everywhere. Therefore, we have asked the local leadership to finalise the decision (of alliance) in local body polls,” said Patel at the press conference.

He added that the party workers' aspirations will guide local election strategy.

Three parties from the ruling Mahayuti, namely Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and the NCP, have been claiming that they will face the upcoming local body polls together. The NCP has, however, now clarified that the decision will not be enforced on the party workers from the top. Patel stressed that all three parties in Mahayuti are working in coordination.

“Important leaders have good coordination and speak unitedly. Therefore, be it the state or the central government, the functioning does not lack any coordination,” he said.

Last week, the opposition Congress too had announced that it would ask the party's local leadership to take a call on whether to fight the election in an alliance or not.

On the ongoing flood crisis in Maharashtra, Patel emphasised that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde have visited flood-affected areas, sent reports to the Centre, and requested assistance.

He added that all NCP MLAs and MPs have contributed one month's salary to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

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