A week after the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, in an interview in Pune, cleared his intentions of forming an alliance with the Congress; he participated in the ‘Halla Bol Andolan’ against the Bharaitya Janata Party (BJP) in Mumbai on Wednesday. The NCP has started this agitation to create awareness among people and unite them,” said Pawar, while addressing the rally at Azad Maidan. The third leg of the Halla Bol Andolan ended in Jalgaon, north Maharashtra, on February 21. In the next phase, starting April, the NCP plans to hold protests in western Maharashtra and Konkan, after the budget session of the state legislature is over, said Sunil Tatkare, state NCP president. However, lately, as the next Assembly polls come closer, Pawar has been distancing himself from the BJP and drawing closer to the Congress and Rahul Gandhi.

Source: Hindustan Times February 28, 2018 06:49 UTC