After their dismal performance as allies in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) parted ways in Maharashtra and contested the assembly elections separately. However, the two parties have decided to sew their alliance back with a common objective -- to keep the BJP away. Top leaders of the parties have held several rounds of discussions and even though there has been no official announcement yet, both Congress and Sharad Pawar-led NCP are likely to contest equal number of seats out of the 48 in the state. They are also reaching out to other "like-minded" parties for a grand alliance.
