Nationalist Congress Party
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nationalist Congress Party | |
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| Leader | Sharad Pawar |
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| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | 10, Bishambhar Das Marg, New Delhi - 110001 |
| Alliance | United Progressive Alliance |
| Political ideology | Populist |
| Website | http://www.ncp.org.in |
| See also the politics of India series | |
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (Marathi: राष्ट्रवादी कॉँग्रेस पक्ष) is an Indian political party based primarily out of the state of Maharashtra.
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[edit] Background
NCP was formed on May 25, 1999, by Sharad Pawar, P.A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar after they were expelled from the Indian National Congress (INC) for disputing the right of Italian-born Sonia Gandhi to lead the party. At the time of formation, the party also absorbed Indian Congress (Socialist) - which traced its origins to anti-Gandhi Congress of 1977-78.
P.A. Sangma, however, quit the NCP in 2004 (and joined All India Trinamul Congress) over differences with Sharad Pawar on NCP's closing in with the INC. Owning to its leaders' respective support bases, particularly Sharad Pawar, NCP has significant presence in the state of Maharashtra.
The NCP advertises itself as a progressive, secular party that stands for "democracy, Gandhian secularism, equity, social justice, and federalism." It positions itself as a moderate, centrist alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the INC. The party's election symbol is an analog clock that reads 10:10.
In the 2004 Indian General Election, which it fought in alliance in Congress, the party won nine seats and 1.8% of the vote. Since 2004, NCP has been a member of the United Progressive Alliance, which governs the country. The party is also a coalition partner in the state of Maharashtra in alliance with INC.
[edit] Political presence
The NCP has members in the following states in India:
- Andhra Pradesh
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Bihar
- Chhattisgarh
- Goa
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
- Jharkhand
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Manipur
- Meghalaya
- Punjab
- Tamil Nadu
- Uttar Pradesh
[edit] Prominent leaders
- R. R. Patil, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra
- Ajit Pawar, State Cabinet Minister (Sharad Pawar's nephew)
- Supriya Sule, (Sharad Pawar's daughter)
- Suryakanta Patil, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs
- Arunbhai Gujarati, Former Speaker of Maharashtra
- Jayant Patil, Finance Minister of Maharashtra
- Praful Patel, Aviation Minister
- P. A. Sangma
- Tariq Anwar
- Chagan Bhujbal
- Vijay Singh Mohite Patil
- Chabil Das Mehta, Former Chief Minister Gujarat
- Sanat Mehta, Former Minister Gujarat
- Madan Bafna, former Minister of Maharashtra for Housing
- K. Muralidharan, former KPCC President of Kerala
