Congress would've done better if it allied with NCP: Praful Patel

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Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel today said the Congress would have "done better" in the Gujarat election if it had formed an alliance with his party.

The trends showed that the BJP was leading in 102 seats, while the Congress was ahead in 71 of the 182 assembly seats. The NCP was leading in one seat, according to the Election Commission trends.

"The Congress should have tied up with the NCP. They could have done better," Patel said.

The NCP was part of the previous Congress-led UPA government at the Centre and the two parties were also partners in the previous Maharashtra government.

For Gujarat elections, the Congress was seen trying to stitch a coalition with the NCP against the ruling BJP. However, it could not fructify.

Stressing that the GST was "an issue" in its first two months of implementation, Patel said, "The steps taken by the government in this regard helped pacify the angry traders."