Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Rais Shaikh, who represents Bhiwandi East, may join Sharad Pawar-led NCP ahead of Maharashtra elections, reports said. Notably, SP and Sharad's NCP are part of MVA bloc. Denying reports of him switching parties, Shaikh said, "These are...rumours...I completely deny them." "If Sharad Pawar's NCP is taking him...it'd be a betrayal," SP MLA Abu Asim Azmi said.