24 September,2009 08:45 AM IST | | Chandran Iyer
Supriya Sule is confident of NCP's good show in the Assembly polls after analysing, rectifying the reason for its debacle in Lok Sabha elections
"Infighting within the party resulted in us paying a heavy price during the Lok Sabha elections. That is something we need to strictly avoid during the forthcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra," said Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar's daughter and newly-elected Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP from Baramati. The constituency was represented by her father earlier.
Introspection
Billed as one of the most promising politicians in the country, Supriya told MiD DAY, "The Lok Sabha elections taught us a bitter lesson and we need to ensure it does not happen again." She said the NCP has introspected the loss, identified the causes for its poor performance and has taken corrective steps ahead of the Assembly polls on October 13.
Asked whether NCP was given a raw deal by alliance partner Congress by giving only 114 of the 288 seats in the state, Supriya replied in the negative and said, "We are quite satisfied." She said her party will contest the elections with development as the main plank.
No rift
Supriya whose networth is estimated at around Rs 50 crore even denied rift within the party. There were allegations that NCP did not campaign for Congress candidate Suresh Kalmadi during the last Lok Sabha elections. When asked whether things will be different this time, Supriya said, "There was no basis to these allegations. We fought the Lok Sabha elections as an alliance and will contest the assembly elections in the same way." Following its dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections, there were reports of several Congressmen wanting their party to contest alone.
