Congress plays safe, ties up with NCP in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD:  In a cautious move, the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP announced a pre-poll alliance for the Gujarat Assembly elections on Friday. The NCP will contest three of the 182 seats in the state. These three seats are currently held by the ruling BJP.

The Congress also announced its second list of 46 candidates for the two-phase polls due Dec1 and 5 on Thursday. The party has fielded 21 of its sitting MLAs. The second list also named four Muslim candidates, including sitting MLA from Wankaner Mohammad Javed Pirzada. The other three are Mamadbhai Jung Jat for the Absada seat, Suleman Patel for Vagra and Aslam Cyclewala for Surat East.

The Congress has announced candidates for 68 seats for the first phase, while nominations for 21 seats are awaited. State Congress chief Jagdish Thakor said the ally NCP will contest three seats -- Umreth (Anand district), Naroda (Ahmedabad), and Devgadh Baria (Dahod district).

“The Congress has decided to forge an alliance with those parties that were with us in the UPA-1 and 2 at the national level,” said Thakor while expressing confidence that the grand old party would return to power in the state by winning 125 seats.

Thakor said those who shared the party’s ideology and working to “save the Constitution” have come together against “fascist forces.” NCP’s state unit president Jayant Patel Boskey said the two allies would honestly work together. “I am thankful for the trust reposed in us by Congress. We will not do anything that will harm the image of the NCP,” Jayant Patel said.