'NCP not keen on post-poll alliance with Congress in Pune'

Mumbai, Feb 2 (UNI) Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which emerged as the single largest party in the 144-member Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), is not keen on entering a post-poll alliance with the Congress there.

Talking to UNI, NCP general secretary Gurunath Kulkarni said the PMC elections were contested on the issue of mismanagement in the civic body, which was ruled by the Congress under the stewardship Lok Sabha member Suresh Kalmadi.

''The mandate shows that the electorate is unhappy with Congress' misdeeds in the PMC,'' Mr Kulkarni said, adding that the NCP will be able to muster support from other parties, excluding the Shiv Sena and BJP. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has won eight seats in the PMC while independents have won 14 wards.

In the 144-member PMC, the Congress has won 35 wards, the NCP has won 42 wards, BJP - 25, Shiv Sena - 20, MNS - eight, and independents - 14.

''But, barring PMC, we are open for an alliance with secular forces in the other civic bodies,'' Mr Kulkarni clarified. He said that barring Mumbai and Nagpur, the NCP's performance had been satisfactory elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Prabha Rau said her party's performance in the civic elections, calls for introspection.

''We will need to analyse our performance and take corrective steps,'' she added.

A visibly-disappointed Mumbai Congress president Gurudas Kamat admitted that the results in Mumbai were a setback for him and the party. He also admitted that the ''Rane factor'' had not worked.

Mr Kamat said if the alliance with the NCP had worked out, the results could have been different. He also attributed the poor results to the low voter turnout.

UNI