Is Supriya Sule playing both sides ahead of Maharashtra polls?

New Delhi: With the Maharashtra legislative assembly polls announcement expected soon, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar's faction) is trying to extract its pound of flesh by secretly negotiating with both sides of political spectrum to secure a better deal for itself.

Party's working president Supriya Sule is understood to be in talks with her cousin and Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar for a possible merger of the two factions ahead of the crucial polls. A move that is likely to have far reaching implications on the poll outcome.

At the same time it is learnt that Sule is also in touch with the Congress for a similar proposal to merge with Sharad Pawar's erstwhile parent political outfit. It is understood Sule's move has a blessing of Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar as he wants to be on the winning side in the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly polls.

Sources within the party stated that the talks by Sule on both sides of political spectrum also show her attempts at securing to get a better deal for her political future.

The Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP is likely to align with any political outfit which offers it the best deal as the Maratha strongman feels this might be his last active state polls, sources said.

This future alignment by Sharad Pawar faction is also expected to secure the political future of his daughter, Sule.

Battle to become single largest party in Maharashtra

With the Assembly polls just weeks away, the BJP and the Congress are both trying to emerge as the single largest party in a post poll scenario.

Leadership of both these political parties feels that anyone who is able the secure the most number of seats will also be able to woo allies after the polls.

Political top brass of these parties knows that minor regional players and independents will only align with any outfit which shows promise to secure the crucial numbers and would aid them in being part of the governance set up in the state.

Maharashtra, the economic powerhouse and one of the biggest states in the country, elects 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha and is considered very important on the national political scene. And for this, the control over the 288 member Legislative Assembly is considered to be crucial.

Any decision by NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) is expected to have far reaching consequences on the political future of not only Maharashtra, but the country.