Kolhapur, June 12 -- State Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader Chandrakant Patil today dismissed rumours of a merger between Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar group) and the Congress, as he famously labled the Congress a "sinking ship".
Addressing a press conference this evening, Patil, remarking on the reported discussions of NCP-SP and Congress unification, said that the Congress itself is a sinking boat and if the NCP(SP) joins them, it would only drive people towards the BJP.
He acknowledged that the ruling alliance may not contest every seat together at the local level. He stated that the main directive is to maximise Mahayuti representation and ensure that the opposition does not benefit from any split.
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