New Delhi, July 9
In an apparent bid to give pinpricks to major ally Congress, the NCP today announced that it would form a secular democratic front in poll-bound states like Kerala and Assam.

But the NCP tied itself up in knots when it said it would protest against the Union Government of which its leader Sharad Pawar is a part.

“We would like to be with the Congress but the Congress does not want us to be with them.... If the Congress does not give us space, we will try to find our own space," NCP General Secretary D P Tripathi told reporters here.

He said the NCP would forge an alliance of secular and democratic parties in various states, particularly in Kerala and Assam, where elections were due next year.

Tripathi said the NCP was now a part of the Left Democratic Front in Kerala and would contest elections jointly next year. The NCP could also explore options in Andhra Pradesh where Jagan Mohan Reddy was going ahead with his Odarpu Yatra despite objections to it from the Congress high command.

Taking its bitterness with Congress to new lengths, Tripathi said the party would be part of the LDF protests in Kerala against price rise.

But when confronted with the fact that the Left protests were against Sharad Pawar's handling of the price issue, he sought to wriggle out, saying: "The protests are not against an individual but against the UPA government".

However, the Congress sought to dismiss Tripathi's comments by saying: "We are a big party and a big alliance and we do not think there is any change in the situation. But who knows what will happen in the future." The Congress said there was nothing abnormal about some constituents of the UPA like the NCP fighting against the Congress in some states outside Maharashtra. — PTI