India, Dec. 17 -- A phone call from NCP (SP) executive president and MP, Supriya Sule, advising against a split in the party's traditional vote base, has set the stage for the first round of talks between the two rival NCP factions ahead of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections.

The two NCP camps met on Tuesday, a day after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the BJP would contest the civic polls independently, without its Mahayuti allies, in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad.

Later in the evening, Tushar Kamthe, Pimpri Chinchwad chief of the NCP (SP), submitted a proposal on jointly contesting the elections to NCP chief and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who was in the city to hold meetings with poll hopefuls.

Kamthe told ...