NCP To Sit In Opposition As Praful Patel Rules Out Playing Role In Government Formation

Clearing the air on possible support to a Shiv Sena led government in the state of Maharashtra to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power in the state, senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Praful Patel said today (26 October) that his party will be sitting in the opposition, reports Asian News International (ANI).

Patel also went on to categorically mention that the NCP will not be playing any role in the formation of the government in the state, while wishing the best to the BJP and Shiv Sena combine.

Calling it the mandate of the people, Patel said that his party accepts it and that the NCP will play the role of strong opposition. It should be noted that in the just culminated polls in the state, NCP increased its share of seats and won on a total of 54 seats, while its alliance partner Indian National Congress (INC) could win only 44 seats.

Meanwhile, the BJP and Shiv Sena which fought the elections in an alliance won a total of 105 and 56 seats respectively, led by incumbent Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray's son Aaditya Thackeray.