The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), despite being a minor political force in Bihar so far, is currently busy mobilising its local units across the state in preparation for the Assembly polls while looking forward to an alliance with the Congress.
The Sharad Pawar-led party has its attention solidly focussed on Bihar as it plans to expand its base across the nation. Unlike during previous elections in Bihar, the NCP has chalked out an ambitious strategy for the state’s upcoming Assembly polls, slated for November, and hopes to win at least 20 seats out of the total 243 if it contests without any alliance.
The NCP’s optimism about the Bihar elections comes from the rousing public support it has witnessed in its recent mass-contact programmes in the state, especially in the Muslim-concentrated districts. The party has already identified 50 constituencies it considers winnable.
“We are keen on an alliance with the Congress, our natural ally, but formal talks in that direction are yet to begin,” said NCP general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra, Tariq Anwar, to this newspaper on Friday. “But despite our keenness for an alliance, we would not agree unless we are given at least 50 seats to contest,” added Mr Anwar, a well-known Muslim leader in Bihar who has been previously elected MP from Bihar’s Katihar several times and has also served as the Bihar Congress president. If alliance plans with the Congress do not materialise, the NCP would contest some 150 seats, said Mr Anwar. “We already have drawn a list of strong candidates who are highly admired in their constituencies,” he said. Sources said the party also plans to field some leaders who had contested as independents.