Mumbai: Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) caved to the aspirations of its elected MPs on Wednesday and declared its support for Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphu Rio without committing to joining the cabinet.
NCP general secretary Narendra Verma said on Tuesday that Chief Minister Rio had been chosen to lead the party "in the bigger interest of the state of Nagaland" after meeting with Pawar and Baramati Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule.
Even though the BJP is a coalition partner of Rio's Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, the NCP didn't even name them in a statement released on Wednesday (NDPP).—Inputs from Agencies