NCP will merge with Congress, says Munde

MUMBAI: In the backdrop of image beating NCP has suffered after the arrest of its MP Padamsinh Patil in connection with a murder case, a senior BJP leader on Wednesday said the Sharad Pawar-led party will eventually merge with Congress.

"I have no doubt that NCP, which is an offshoot of Congress, will merge with that party.... half the NCP leaders feel that their party should merge with Congress," BJP General Secretary Gopinath Munde told reporters here.

Munde, who was Home Minister during BJP-Sena rule in the Maharashtra, also demanded Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar murder case in which Padamsinh Patil is allegedly involved should be brought under stringent MCOCA Act to ensure that the accused does not get bail.

Asked about Congress projecting Rahul Gandhi as the man behind Congress' victory in Lok Sabha polls, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Munde said "if Congress was so confident of good performance in UP, why did they settle for only 11 seats when they tried for pre-poll alliance with SP in that state?"

"Members of the so-called Youth Brigade in Congress have been elected to Parliament on the legacy of their fathers who were prominent Congress leaders," he said.