PUNE, Dec. 17 -- A phone call from NCP (SP) executive president and MP, Supriya Sule, advising against a split in the party's traditional vote base, has set the stage for the first round of talks between the two rival NCP factions ahead of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections. The two NCP camps met on Tuesday, a day after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the BJP would contest the civic polls independently, without its Mahayuti allies, in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. Leaders from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) met in Pimpri Chinchwad on Tuesday, signalling early efforts to explore local-level coordination to prevent the BJP from gaining an advantage due to a divided opposition. Civic elections in Maharashtra, including the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, are scheduled for January 15. Nana Kate, election in-charge of the NCP, and Sunil Gavhane, a member of the election core committee of the NCP (SP), led the meeting. Kate said Sule had recently spoken to him over the phone, to congratulate him on his daughter's wedding. "During that conversation, she advised that the two NCP factions should avoid dividing votes and that discussions should be initiated with local leaders," he said." P4...