Marathwada: Cong-NCP eyes saffron combine stronghold

AURANGABAD: The ruling Congress-NCP alliance is seeking to improve its performance in the backward Marathwada region, where polling is scheduled in five Lok Sabha constituencies on April 23.

During the 2004 elections, NCP won two seats (Hingoli and Beed) while the remaining six seats went to the saffron alliance (Sena won Aurangabad and Parbhani and BJP won Jalna, Nanded, Latur and Osmanabad seats).

Congress drew a blank, with senior leader Shivraj Patil losing his Latur seat.

The importance Congress-NCP alliance is attaching to Marathwada can be gauged by the fact that for the first time during this election in the state, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is addressing a rally at Latur on April 21.

Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi is also addressing a rally at Jalna on April 20.

Sena-BJP combine has also held a series of rallies addressed by L K Advani, Narendra Modi and Uddhav Thackeray in the region.

Congress-NCP alliance is banking on the initiatives undertaken by the State Government for promoting industrial development of the region.