Pawar, who also heads the powerful Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank, was in city on Sunday. Talking informally to pressmen, he said the NCP is sure to gain in strength in the State within a month or so.

He said a major chunk of Congress legislators (numbering 59) have already joined the NCP. Among the second lot, Minister of State for PWD, Shivajirao Naik and about a dozen Independents, mostly from western Maharashtra, have already made their views known. As a result, the Sonia-led Congress is left with only backbenchers, who have never opened their mouth in the Legislature.

According to Pawar, the NCP, in addition to winning the numbers game, has also proved to be the real Opposition group in the State. With leaders like Chhagan Bhujbal, R RPatil, Dilip Valse-Patil and Laxmanrao Dhoble, known for their fiery speeches against the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance Government's misdeeds, the NCP has stolen a march over the Sonia-led Congress.