Mumbai:
Despite coming under intense pressure on the Nimbalkar issue, the NCP is standing by senior party leader Padamsinh Patil, arrested in connection with the double murder case.
However the party admits at least privately that Padamsinh Patils's arrest could not have come at a worst time; the party can only hope that the case is forgotten before the next assembly elections.
"It is a setback for the party. We will have to work hard in the assembly elections," said NCP leader, Chhagan Bhujbal.
Chaggan Bhujbal publicly voiced what many in the NCP privately agree.
That Padamsinh Patil's arrest could not have come at a worse time for the party. It won less seats than expected in the Parliamentary elections. It's battling a resurgent Congress and it's facing an assembly election. But officially the party continues to maintain.
"Until he is declared guilty, the party cannot act against him," said D P Tripathy, NCP Spokesperson.
Patil won the only seat for the NCP in the Marathwada region. He's also a powerful Maratha leader and so the party cannot easily desert him.
Caught in a bind, Sharad Pawar for once must be banking on public memory being fickle and that the case is forgotten by the time the assembly elections arrive.