The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a political party in India. Its youth wing is the Nationalist Youth Congress. The NCP was formed on 25 May 1999, by Sharad Pawar, P. A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar after they were expelled from the Indian National Congress (INC) on 20 May 1999, for disputing the right of Italian-born Sonia Gandhi to lead the party. At the time of formation of the NCP, the Indian Congress (Socialist) party merged with the new party . Despite the NCP being founded on opposition to the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, it has formed coalitions with the Congress party to form a government on numerous occasions at the state level as well at the federal level. On 20 June 2012, P. A. Sangma quit the NCP to contest in presidential polls.