Mumbai. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said that the Lok Sabha election results have shown that the situation in the country is conducive for political change. He also said that the leaders of the ‘India’ alliance are likely to meet in Delhi on Wednesday to decide the future strategy. However, he also said that the opposition alliance is unlikely to form the government at the Center.
Pawar said, “I have spoken to (Congress President) Mallikarjun Kharge and (CPI(M) General Secretary) Sitaram Yechury. The ‘India’ alliance meeting is likely to be held in Delhi on Wednesday. A final decision is expected to be taken by this evening. Accordingly, I will go to Delhi.”
When asked who will be the next Prime Minister, Pawar said, “We have not thought about it.” He said, “I am not sure about the India Alliance forming the government. We will have a meeting on Wednesday and decide on the future strategy by consensus.” Pawar said that his party and Shiv Sena (UBT) have a very good ‘strike rate’ in the Lok Sabha elections.
Amid the trends in the Lok Sabha election counting indicating that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not get a majority on its own, Pawar said in a press conference here that contrary to media reports, he has not yet spoken to Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar or Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu. He also expressed satisfaction over his party’s performance, saying that it contested 10 seats, of which it is leading in seven.
Pawar said, “This is the success of my party, Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT).” The NCP (SP) chief said that he started his political innings from Baramati in Pune district and hence his party has made a good lead there (in Baramati seat). The former Union Minister said, “As Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), we fought the elections unitedly, hence we have won the maximum number of seats. Our ‘strike rate’ is better.”
He said, “We fought the elections by raising public issues like unemployment and inflation. We are committed to continue raising people’s issues.” The former Chief Minister said that Maharashtra has played an important role in the changing political scenario and he is proud of the people of the state. He said that the electoral contest was very tough but the public supported the opposition a lot.
Pawar said that the results of Uttar Pradesh have given a new direction to the ‘India’ alliance. He mentioned that even where the BJP is winning, its victory margin has reduced compared to last time.
Tags: BJP, Congress, india alliance, Lok Sabha Election 2024, Lok Sabha Elections, Sharad pawar
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 4, 2024, 21:18 IST