Even though his attempts to bring opposition parties together to stitch a united national front against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seem to have not garnered success, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said Congress should first decide on such an alliance. Admitting that differences among opposition parties prevailed, Pawar said efforts were on to resolve them.
The NCP chief’s statements come in the backdrop of Congress’s chintan shivir (brainstorming session) which will be held later this week in Rajasthan.
“The discussions over a front of all opposition parties are on, but political parties first need to make their own decisions on it internally. Congress is an important party; its chintan shivir is being held in Rajasthan. I believe they will come up with a decision in this regard [at the session],” Pawar said in Kolhapur.
Before the formation of a united front, the differences among opposition parties needed to be addressed, he said. “During the West Bengal assembly polls [held last year], Mamata Banerjee and NCP were together but Congress and Left parties were on another side of the elections against BJP. If Congress and Left parties were with us, the picture would have been altogether different. Similarly in Kerala, Congress is in the opposition while we [NCP] and Communist parties are running the state government. All these issues need to be sorted out first and that process is on.”
The NCP has been supporting the idea of a broader alliance bringing all the non-BJP parties against the Narendra Modi government. In December, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee met Pawar in Mumbai in this regard. Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao too called on the NCP chief in February. However, Pawar has clarified that a front without Congress won’t make any sense as it is still the biggest opposition party in the country.
The NCP chief slammed the Central government over inflation, unemployment, and raking up religious issues alleging that it was trying to divert attention of the people. Pawar said the review of sedition law was a welcome step and the British era law needed to be scrapped.
About the three ruling parties — Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress — joining hands for the local body polls in Maharashtra, the former union minister said they had yet to take a decision over the alliance. “In my party [NCP] there are two views. One is all the three ruling parties should contest on their own and later come together for a post-poll alliance. Another view is we are running the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government, so polls should be fought as an alliance which will benefit all three. No decision has been taken on it as of now.”
Reacting to BJP’s announcement of fielding 27% other backward class candidates in the forthcoming local body polls, in the absence of quota to them, Pawar said even they were of the same opinion.
On the opposition to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray’s Ayodhya visit, the NCP chief said it was not a national issue. “My grandnephew [Rohit Pawar] was also in Ayodhya two days ago; I saw him on TV.”
