Still smarting under the severe drubbing it has received in the Lok Sabha polls, the NCP is now faced with another problem, and it is how to contain its own MP from firing salvos at it.
An agitated Maharashtra NCP president RR Patil today pulled up the newly elected party MP from Satara, Udayan Raje Bhosale, a royal descendant and a maverick politician, for making derogatory remarks against the party leadership.
"He has joined our party recently. All party workers have freedom to articulate their views on its own forum. But approaching media to discuss party matters is not proper and care should taken to see that our image is not spoiled," Patil said in Satara today when his attention was drawn to the remarks made by Udayan.
Earlier, Udayan, who crossed over to the NCP from the Congress on the eve of the elections and was given a ticket from Satara, crticised the party leadership at a press conference taking strong exception to a report purportedly prepared by NCP to determine the causative factors for its poor show in the state.
According to the report, circulated in media, Udayan Raje's name figures in it along with Maharashtra minister Ajit Pawar.
"I do not know why I am being implicated in this report. If the party leadership hates me so much why I was given NCP ticket when I was ready to contest the Satara seat as an independent", Udayan Raje said.
Udayan who won with huge margin, had embarrassed the party earlier also when he declared that he did not attach any importance to the party he was representing and his main task was to take up the people's problems and solve it irrespective of his affiliation.
The NCP decided to offer him ticket as he was sure to win from Satara on his own "charisma".
Patil, when asked about the said report of the party, however denied that such an assessment was ever documented saying it was "fictitious".
"There is no such report pinning responsibility for the party' s dismal performance. We are probing the matter as to how this fabricated report was circulated in media to malign the party's image", he said.
