The
Nationalist Congress Party (
NCP) is an
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n political party based primarily in the state of
MaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's third largest state by area and second largest by population....
.
NCP was formed on 25 May 1999, by
Sharad PawarSharadchandra Govindrao Pawar , popularly known as Sharad Pawar, is an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra. He is the president of the Nationalist Congress Party which he founded in 1999, after separating from the Indian National Congress...
, P.A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar after they were expelled from the
Indian National CongressThe Indian National Congress is a major political party in India. Founded in 1885 by Allan Octavian Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha, Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, Surendranath Banerjee, Monomohun Ghose, and William Wedderburn, the Indian National Congress became the leader of the Indian...
(INC) on May 20, 1999, for disputing the right of Italian-born
Sonia GandhiSonia Gandhi is the Italian-born President of the Indian National Congress and the widow of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi...
to lead the party . At the time of formation, the party also absorbed
Indian Congress (Socialist)Indian Congress was a political party in India between 1978 and 1986. The party was formed through a split in the Indian National Congress. Initially the party was known as the Indian National Congress and was led by D. Devraj Urs. It broke away from the parent party in 1978 following Indira...
- which traced its origins to anti-Gandhi Congress of 1977-78 .
P.A.
The
Nationalist Congress Party (
NCP) is an
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n political party based primarily in the state of
MaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's third largest state by area and second largest by population....
.
Background
NCP was formed on 25 May 1999, by
Sharad PawarSharadchandra Govindrao Pawar , popularly known as Sharad Pawar, is an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra. He is the president of the Nationalist Congress Party which he founded in 1999, after separating from the Indian National Congress...
, P.A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar after they were expelled from the
Indian National CongressThe Indian National Congress is a major political party in India. Founded in 1885 by Allan Octavian Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha, Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, Surendranath Banerjee, Monomohun Ghose, and William Wedderburn, the Indian National Congress became the leader of the Indian...
(INC) on May 20, 1999, for disputing the right of Italian-born
Sonia GandhiSonia Gandhi is the Italian-born President of the Indian National Congress and the widow of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi...
to lead the party . At the time of formation, the party also absorbed
Indian Congress (Socialist)Indian Congress was a political party in India between 1978 and 1986. The party was formed through a split in the Indian National Congress. Initially the party was known as the Indian National Congress and was led by D. Devraj Urs. It broke away from the parent party in 1978 following Indira...
- which traced its origins to anti-Gandhi Congress of 1977-78 .
P.A. Sangma, however, left the NCP in 2004 (and joined All India Trinamul Congress) over differences with Sharad Pawar on the NCP's closing in with the INC. Owning to its leaders' respective support bases, particularly Sharad Pawar, the NCP has a significant presence in the state of Maharashtra.
The NCP advertises itself as a
progressiveProgressivism is a political and social term for ideologies and movements favoring or advocating changes or reform, usually in a statist or egalitarian direction for economic policies and liberal direction for social policies...
, secular party that stands for "
democracyDemocracy is a system of government in which either the actual governing is carried out by the people governed , or the power to do so is granted by them...
,
GandhianMohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
secularism, equality,
social justiceSocial justice is a notion used to describe a society with a greater degree of economic egalitarianism through progressive taxation, income redistribution, or even property redistribution, policies aimed toward achieving that which developmental economists refer to as equality of opportunity and...
, and federalism." It positions itself as a moderate, centrist alternative to the
Bharatiya Janata PartyThe Bharatiya Janata Party , translation: Indian People's Party) is a major political party in India, founded in 1980. The party is a strong force in Hindu nationalism and advocates conservative social policies, self-reliance, free market economics, foreign policy driven by a nationalist agenda,...
(BJP) and the INC. The party's election symbol is an analog clock that reads 10:10.
In the 2004 Indian General Election, which it fought in alliance in Congress, the party won nine seats and 1.8% of the vote. Since 2004, the NCP has been a member of the
United Progressive AllianceUnited Progressive Alliance is a ruling coalition of political parties heading the government of India. The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress , which is currently the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha...
, which governs the country. The party is also a coalition partner in the state of
MaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's third largest state by area and second largest by population....
in alliance with INC.
Political presence
The NCP has members in the following states in India:
- Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , abbreviated A.P., is a state situated on the south-eastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Hyderabad...
- Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is the easternmost state of India. Arunachal Pradesh borders with the Indian state of Assam to the south and Nagaland to the southeast. Burma/Myanmar lies towards the east, Bhutan towards the west, and its boundary with the People's Republic of China to the north is disputed and...
- Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. Bihar is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at 38,202 sq mi , and 3rd largest by population. Close to 85 percent of the population lives in villages...
- Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh , a state in central India, formed when the sixteen Chhattisgarhi-speaking southeastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained statehood on November 1, 2000. Raipur serves as its capital. It is the 10th largest state of India by area of 52,199 sq mi...
- Goa
Goa is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located on the west coast of India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast.Panaji is...
- Gujarat
Gujarat is the westernmost state in India. It is home to the Gujarati speaking people of India. The state encompasses major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Lothal and Dholavira. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India throughout the history of India...
- Haryana
Haryana is a state in northern India. It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south. Eastern border to Uttarakhand & Uttar Pradesh is defined by river Yamuna. Haryana also surrounds Delhi on three sides, forming the northern, western and...
- Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in north India.It is spread over 21,629 sq mi , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on north, Punjab on west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on south, Uttarakhand on south-east and by Tibet, China on the east...
- Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar state on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east. of 28,833 sq mi...
- Karnataka
Karnataka is a state in the southern part of India. It was created on November 1, 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act...
- Kerala
Kerala , is a state located in southwestern India. The state was created in 1956 on linguistc basis, bringing together those places where Malayalam formed the principal language...
- Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh was originally the largest state in India until November 1, 2000 when the state of Chhattisgarh was carved out...
- Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's third largest state by area and second largest by population....
- Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Myanmar to the east. It covers an area of ....
- Meghalaya
Meghalaya is a small state in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means "The Abode of Clouds" in Sanskrit and other Indic languages. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country about 300 km long and 100 km wide, with a total area of about 8,700 sq mi...
- Punjab
Punjab is a state in northwest India. The Indian state borders the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest. The total area of the state is 50,362 square kilometres...
- Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai . Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by Puducherry , Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh...
- Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh , [often referred to as U.P.] is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 190 million people,...
Prominent leaders
- R. R. Patil
Raosaheb Ramchandra Patil, better known as R. R. Patil , is an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra. He is a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party...
, former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra
- Ajit Pawar, State Cabinet Minister (Sharad Pawar's nephew)
- Agatha K Sangma,Member of Parliament of India (MP),minister of state for rural development ( P.A. Sangma's Daughter)
- Udayan Raje Bhosale Member of Parliament from Satara, and 13th descendant of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
- Supriya Sule
Supriya Sule is an Indian politician from the Nationalist Congress Party and currently a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha . She is the daughter of the President of the Nationalist Congress Party, Sharad Pawar. In 2009, she contested the elections for the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency and won...
, Member of Rajya SabhaThe Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature, science, and social services. These members are known as nominated members...
(Sharad Pawar's daughter)
- Ganesh Naik
Ganesh Naik is an Indian politician. He is the Nationalist Congress Party member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly representing Belapur, and is the Thane Guardian Minister in the state government. He is currently the minister of Labour, excise and environment....
, Minister of Excise, Envirnoment and Labour.
- Suryakanta Patil
Suryakanta Patil was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. She represented the Hingoli constituency of Maharashtra and is a member of the Nationalist Congress Party political party....
, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs
- Sambhaji Raje Shahu Chhatrapati Royal descendant of Kolhapur Sansthan.
- Arunbhai Gujarati, former Speaker of Maharashtra
- Jayant Patil
Jayant Patil is an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra. He is the current Home Minister in the cabinet in the state of Maharashtra in Western India....
, Home Minister of Maharashtra
- Ram Raje Naik Nimbalkar MLA and descendant of Royal family of Phaltan Sansthan.
- Vasant davkare
- Dilip Valse Patil,
- Praful Patel
Praful Patel is a member of the Lok Sabha of India. He currently holds the title of Minister of State for Civil Aviation. He belongs to Gondia, a district in Maharashtra.- Political career :...
, Civil Aviation Minister
- P. A. Sangma
Purno Agitok Sangma is an Indian politician. He is a former Speaker of Lok Sabha and Chief Minister of Meghalaya. He was a co-founder of the Nationalist Congress Party and remained a member of the Lok Sabha for eight terms, i.e. 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th Lok Sabha.-Early...
, NCP General Secretary
- Vikayak Mete MLC and Shiv Sangram Sanghatana Chief
- Tariq Anwar
- Shambhu Raje Desai MLA and member of erstwhile Royal family.
- Vikram Singh Patankar MLA and former PWD minister
- Digvijay Khanvilkar MLA and former health minister
- Chagan Bhujbal, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Minister of Public Works
- Vijay Singh Mohite Patil, Minister of Rural development and Tourism, Maharashtra
- Chabil Das Mehta, former Chief Minister of Gujarat
Gujarat is the westernmost state in India. It is home to the Gujarati speaking people of India. The state encompasses major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Lothal and Dholavira. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India throughout the history of India...
- Shivendra Raje Bhosle MLA and member of Royal Raje Bhosle family of Satara Sansthan.
- Sanat Mehta, former Minister of Gujarat
Gujarat is the westernmost state in India. It is home to the Gujarati speaking people of India. The state encompasses major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Lothal and Dholavira. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India throughout the history of India...
- Madan Bafna, former Minister of Maharashtra for Housing
- K. Muraleedharan
K. Muraleedharan is an Indian politician. He was the president of the Nationalist Congress Party in Kerala. In August 2009, he resigned from the party with a view to join his parent party Indian National Congress. However, due to strong resistance from the state Congress leadership, the party has...
, former KPCC President of KeralaKerala , is a state located in southwestern India. The state was created in 1956 on linguistc basis, bringing together those places where Malayalam formed the principal language...
- Vallabh Benke, MLA Junnar & President of Pune District NCP
External links