BMC polls: No ultimatum to Congress, mere suggestion, clarifies NCP

New Delhi: Amidst reports that the NCP had served an ultimatum to the Congress over an alliance row for the upcoming Bombay Municipal Corporation polls, NCP leader Jitendra Awhad has clarified that it was merely a suggestion and not an ultimatum.

"Negotiations are on... He (Sharad Pawar)only said that negotiations should be finished at the right time because if the whole matter is delayed then it is a matter of concern because then we have to run around.

"He (Pawar) has just suggested that we should finish things on time so that everybody gets the opportunity to go to the candidates and meet the voters."

The NCP wants to contest with 65 seats for the BMC polls, much more than the 50 that the Cong has planned for them.

Pawar had on Sunday told the Congress to "deliver by Monday evening" on the issue of seat sharing for the crucial BMC polls.

The NCP wants to contest with 65 seats for the 232-member BMC. However, this is far more than what the Congress had originally planned for them.

The Congress wanted the NCP to contest with 50 seats.

However, NCP chief Sharad Pawar declared at a rally on Sunday that either the Congress agreed to its demands or geared up to face NCP workers as independent candidates in the polls.

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