NCP may contest 10 seats in NE

New Delhi, July 16: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has set a deadline of August 9 to complete the process of forming State units in all the North Eastern States. The NCP's agenda for the NE is all set and a draft manifesto for the region is under preparation which will be discussed at a crucial meeting of the Core Committee on July 24 at Guwahati, the NCP's observer and in-charge for NE, BB Dutta told The Assam Tribune here today, on his return from the region. The Core Committee, which is the supreme decision-making body of the party in the region, has been formed with former Assam Chief Minister, SC Sinha as the chairman, former Lok Sabha Speaker and general secretary PA Sangma as vice-chairman and BB Dutta as member secretary. Significantly, following frequent visits to the region both by Sangma and Dutta, the NCP has gauged the mood of the people and indications are that the party is not likely to contest in more than 10 seats in the region. In Assam for instance, the party has decided to contest in only five seats, while in Meghalaya it will contest in Tura, leaving the Shillong seat to the United Democratic Party (UDP). The party is unlikely to contest in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura.