Cong-NCP responsible for growth of BJP: SP's Azmi

Maharashtra Samajwadi Party chief Abu Azmi blamed the Congress-NCP for the growth of BJP in the state. Talking to reporters in Mumbra on Monday, Azmi said the mistakes committed by these two parties allowed the BJP to take centrestage in Maharashtra.

He said the SP wanted to fight alongside the Congress and NCP to stop division of votes against the BJP-Shiv Sena. "But the Congress betrayed us and the NCP kept mum on it. The Congress lacks quality leadership in the state and its leaders from Delhi are playing mischief. The Congress-NCP use Muslims for their own benefit," he alleged.

Azmi said the SP, which won the Bhiwandi East seat (Rais Shaikh) in the October 21 Assembly polls, will now concentrate on Mumbra, an NCP stronghold, to increase its footprint in the state..