NCP (SP) rules out support to NDA, says delimitation stance depends on Bill

Mumbai, Aug 10 (PTI) The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) on Monday dismissed speculation about future support for the BJP-led NDA, and affirmed that its stance on delimitation will depend on the final draft bill presented in Parliament.

Talking to reporters, NCP (SP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said a delegation led by party MP and working president Supriya Sule met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi to discuss issues related to Maharashtra, and insisted the visit wasn't political.

He said the meeting, which lasted 20 minutes, was scheduled after confirmation from the Prime Minister's Office on Friday and was not related to the delimitation issue.

"There is no proposal or discussion on delimitation in Parliament today. First, the bill should come. Once the bill comes, it will be discussed with the INDIA alliance. There will be a detailed discussion within the alliance," Tapase said.

He clarified that the NCP (SP) was firmly with the Opposition bloc and had not entered into any political understanding with the BJP or the NDA in 2014, 2019 or 2024, and questioned why it would do so now.

Tapase's remarks came amid speculation about a rapprochement between the two NCP factions and the Sharad Pawar-led party extending support to the NDA.

He said that the party had built its own organisation after the NCP split and was working to strengthen its cadre under the leadership of Supriya Sule, Rohit Pawar, Jayant Patil and Shashikant Shinde.

Speaking about the proposed delimitation exercise, Tapase said the government had not yet made up its mind whether to introduce the legislation during the ongoing monsoon session.

"No draft bill has been sent to any MP for reading or discussion. I don't think the delimitation bill will come in the next two-three days," he said.

He further stated that women's quota should be delinked from delimitation, and said the legislation passed in 2023 should be implemented immediately.

"The women's reservation bill has already been passed. It should be implemented immediately. Linking it with delimitation is wrong," he said, questioning the reason behind waiting for delimitation to implement women's reservation ahead of elections to Uttar Pradesh and other states.

He also said the party could consider a proposal for 50 per cent reservation for women if such a demand comes up for discussion.

Tapase said the NCP (SP) had opposed the delimitation proposal in the INDIA bloc and maintained that the southern states had also strongly opposed it. PTI