India, July 31 -- Going by the erosion taking place in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) over the past few days, it seems the party is going through difficult times ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The polls are due in October this year. NCP chief Sharad Pawar has alleged that the defection from his party to the BJP/Shiv Sena was because of the saffron party's manipulations. Added to that, even as Pawar is trying to do some damage control, the Election Commission of India recently sent a notice to his party, removing it from the list of national parties.

Pawar is a big and a formidable leader in Maharashtra politics but with a decimated strength today. Only last week, senior NCP leader Sachin Ahir joined the Shiv Sena amid...