Amidst large-scale defection to BJP and Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Sunday announced that his party and Congress will fight the upcoming state assembly election with like-minded parties to take on the saffron alliance.

Pawar revealed that the NCP and Congress have already arrived at an agreement on 240 of the total 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, while talks are underway for sharing the remaining 48 seats with Peasants and Workers Party, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, Republican Party of India (Kawade) and other like-minded parties.

Pawar told reporters in Pune that seat-sharing talks will be completed and a constituency-wise list of candidates will be readied in the next few days. He informed that his party will field new faces, especially youths.

On the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) joining the Congress-NCP alliance, Pawar said, "I met some MNS leaders in Mumbai. Recently Raj Thackeray met Sonia Gandhi. MNS leaders have strong feelings against EVMs and they feel some decision needs to be taken in this regard. The MNS is in favour of boycotting the elections but this is not acceptable to us," he added.

He added that various opposition parties have approached the Election Commission of India and the Supreme Court against the use of EVMs. Parties have strongly demanded the use of ballot paper. "But no one has reached a decision to boycott the elections," he said.

On NCP leaders switching over to the ruling BJP and Sena, Pawar said, "Those in power are misusing it and taking help of agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax, CBI and ACB to compel leaders from other parties to join them."

He accused Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other ministers of the BJP of poaching leaders and said the phenomenon was taking place in other states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan too.

However, state BJP president Chandrakant Patil refuted Pawar's allegations saying it was the NCP president's attempt to gain sympathy in the run-up to the assembly election. "Pawar needs to introspect why his party leaders are deserting him and the NCP. Pawar encouraged dynasty politics, while not giving a chance to other party leaders. People want a strong alternative and therefore they are joining the BJP,'' he said.

Further, the state water resources minister and Fadnavis' close confidant, Girish Mahajan, also called upon Pawar to introspect on his party leaders migrating to the ruling alliance. "Chief Minister is not exerting any pressure in the ongoing inquiries against opposition leaders as alleged by Pawar. More than 50 leaders from NCP and Congress are in touch with BJP,'' he said.