'All is well': Cong-NCP to hold first rally

In a sign that all is well in the "mahagathbandhan" in Maharashtra, the Congress and NCP are all set for its first mega election rally on Wednesday, sounding the bugle for the Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress and NCP were partners in the erstwhile Democratic Front.

Neither party has indicated whether Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena will be part of their alliance.

The rally will be attended by Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC general secretary of Maharashtra; Sharad Pawar, NCP supremo; Ashok Chavan, Congress president; and NCP leader Jayant Patil.

The rally will be held in Nanded in Marathwada, Chavan's home district.

Prof Jogendra Kawade, the chief of People's Republican Party, will also be addressing the rally.

"The seat-sharing process is undergoing and announcement would be made soon," sources in the alliance said.

In fact, leaders in the NCP like Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar were keen to include Thackeray in the alliance, but Chavan has bluntly shot down the proposal saying the MNS' stance on migrants will affect the party's prospects in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The Congress similarly in uncomfortable with Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh founder Prakash Ambedkar, who was an alliance with the AIMIM, which in turn is an ally of the Chandrashekhar Rao-led TRS, which is a vocal critic of Rahul Gandhi.