NCP open to post-poll alliances

With civic polls in Maharashtra throwing up hung houses, the Nationalist Congress Party on Friday said it was open to post poll alliances and would try to work along with secular parties for development of the state.

"As far as development is concerned, we would try to work along with secular parties," NCP President Sharad Pawar told media persons in New Delhi.

He expressed happiness over the success of his party, which had contested the polls independent of its ally Congress.

NCP spokesman D P Tripathi said the results vindicate the party's understanding about following the UPA experiment at all levels.

"We had appealed to the Congress for an alliance but the Congress did not agree and made unreasonable demands," he said.

The NCP emerged as the single largest party in Pune and won majority seats in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. "Our colleagues have worked to expand the party's base and they have succeeded in it," Pawar said.

The Congress and the NCP, which are allies at the Centre and the state government, paid the price for contesting the polls separately, conceding Nagpur and Thane and were close to losing Nashik.