Pune: The senior NCP (SP) leadership, according to its district functionaries, has clarified that the party will remain in the opposition, after they sought clarity on speculations over the outfit joining NDA.NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar addressed the district presidents and other functionaries of the party from western Maharashtra, Marathwada and north Maharashtra in a two-day meet in Mumbai last weekend. Amid speculations that NCP (SP) was tilting towards NDA and might join the govt in coming months, the party functionaries urged Pawar and the party’s working president, Supriya Sule, to clear the outfit’s stand on the possibility of joining NDA.According to the functionaries of NCP (SP), the party’s leadership clarified to them that it would not join NDA and continue to raise the voice of common citizens in the opposition. “Pawar Saheb clarified that his meetings with the BJP seniors were for official purposes and those did not mean his party would join NDA. Even Supriya said she had been witnessing similar speculations since 2014 but the party would not join BJP,” another functionary said.One of the party functionaries who attended the meeting told TOI, “Party gets support from all sections of the society, including the minority. Some functionaries said uncertainty was growing among the party workers at the grassroots because of these speculations. They feel that if the party joins NDA, a large section of the party supporters will shift to Congress. Therefore, some of the functionaries urged the party seniors to clear the stand on whether the party will join NDA or not.”Senior Pawar told the NCP (SP) functionaries in the meeting to make efforts for the party’s growth in their respective districts. He also advised them to enroll more members before the next elections.Speaking about the meet, working president Supriya Sule said, “It shows that we have democracy in our party. Party seniors spoke the least, while the district presidents spoke their heart out and gave honest feedback. After some reports about the speculations, they had some doubts. They told us about these and we addressed each and every doubt.”
