Sharad Pawar: 'Shinde can present Congress' views but not NCP's'

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar on Wednesday lashed out at the Indian National Congress (INC) senior leader Sushil Kumar Shinde. Pawar lashed out at Shinde for suggesting that the INC and NCP will integrate into one in the future. Pawar further said that it is only Shinde’s sole discretion to make a decision and speak about his party’s future.

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'I am the national president of NCP'

Pawar, while addressing media persons at a press conference in the city of Balapur in Akola, said, “Congress and NCP are working together in an alliance in the state. Sushil Kumar Shinde can present Congress's views but not of the NCP. I am the national president of NCP and nobody knows the status of my party better than me.” The NCP supremo was reacting to the comments made by Shinde in a rally earlier on Tuesday wherein Shinde had stated that the INC and NCP will unify in the future. Shinde made the comments at a campaign rally for an NCP candidate here, ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in the state. 

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'These parties will come closer'

According to reports, Shinde had stated that "ultimately, Congress and NCP, even if these two parties are separate, I tell you from this stage that these parties will come closer in near future and Congress will be unified." 

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Maharashtra polls on October 21

Maharashtra, which has 288 Assembly seats, will go to polls on October 21, 2019. The Maharashtra assembly elections will be held in a single-phase and the counting procedure would be conducted on October 24. The Election Commission chief Sunil Arora also announced that the last date of nomination is on October 4. Arora also informed that the parties in Maharashtra had wanted the polls to be concluded by Dhanteras.

The schedule: 

• Issue of notification for both states (Haryana and Maharashtra) - 27 September
• last date of nomination - 4 October
• Scrutiny of nomination -5 October
• Withdrawal of nomination- 7 October
• Polling date for both states - 21 October (Single phase)
• Counting of votes - 24 October

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(Inputs from ANI)