NCP National Convention on September 16,17

New Delhi, Sept 15: The Third National Convention of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP),to be held at Dehradun in Uttaranchal on September 16 and 17, will chalk out the party's strategy for the forthcoming Assembly elections in four States.

The two-day Convention would begin with a meeting of the party's Working Committee tomorrow evening, followed by its inauguration by Union Agriculture Minister and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar on September 17, Four resolutions including on political and economic situation and on organisational matters would be discussed and adopted during the Convention.

Mr Pawar, who was elected President of the NCP a third time in June last year, would be formally installed in the post with its endorsement at the National Convention.

The General Secretary's report and the audited accounts of the party would also be presented and adopted at the Convention, according to a party spokesman.

The result of the election of members of the Working Committee would be declared during the convention, the spokesman said.

All the prominent leaders of the NCP, besides Mr Pawar, including Union Ministers Praful Patel and Mrs Surya Kanta Patil, PWD Minister in Maharashtra Chhagan Bhujbal, party General Secretary Tariq Anwar and 4000 members of the party from various parts of the country would attend the convention.

The previous two national conventions of the NCP were held in Delhi and Nagpur with a Special Session of the party held in Surat.

The NCP convention begins tomorrow in the backdrop of the proposed merger of former Kerala Chief Minister K.Karunakaran's party Democratic Indira Congress,which is likely to give a shot in the arm to the NCP and help strengthen its base. Meanwhile, NCP General Secretary and Spokesman D.P.Tripathi told reporters in Dehradun that his party was open to forging an alliance with the Congress in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Uttaranchal.

In the event of the Congress being reluctant to forge an alliance, the NCP would be prepared to have an alliance with other regional secular parties, he said.

Mr Tripathi said chalking out a strategy for the Assembly elections in four states and considering ways to strengthen the UPA alliances would also form the agenda of the two-day convention.

UNI