No secondary role to Congress: NCP

"If we look at the 2014 Lok Sabha and assembly results in Maharashtra, there is hardly any difference between Congress and NCP. Therefore, NCP would expect equal share at par with Congress," NCP leader Ajit Pawar said.

Earlier, NCP senior leader Praful Patel also made similar expectations for a pre-poll alliance. Similar sentiments are expressed by elected members and leaders within the NCP. They have indicated that the party will expect a formula of equal seat-sharing to make the pre-poll alliance workable in Maharashtra assembly polls and the same formula for the Lok Sabha. Although elections are scheduled in 2019, the process of political permutation and combination has already set in Maharashtra. Individual parties are going out of the way to conduct surveys and access their party's present political standing. The NCP is also keenly watching the exercise underway in Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee led by Ashok Chavan and Congress general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra Mohan Prakash.The Congress has been making a district-wise assessment to elicit a response on pre-poll alliance with NCP. A senior general secretary of MPCC requesting anonymity said, " We have arrived at two conclusions at this moment. In principle, we want a pre-poll alliance with the NCP. Secondly, Congress is not going to give 50 percent seats to NCP in Lok Sabha or assembly."

Explaining the reasons, the MPCC official who is part of the political process said, " Maharashtra is an important state. It will definitely retain upper edge against NCP in the state assembly."