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Unease in MVA after Pawar’s remarks on unity for LS polls
Addressing mediapersons in Amravati, Pawar said, “Today we are a part of the MVA and there is a willingness to work together. But desire alone is not always enough. Allotment of seats, whether there are any problems or not; all this has not been discussed yet. So how can I tell you about this?”
Mumbai: Even as they are preparing for a show of strength of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the city on May 1, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s remarks expressing uncertainty over the three coalition parties contesting 2024 Lok Sabha elections together has led to unease in the alliance.
Pawar, however, on Monday said that his remarks were blown out of proportion by the media.
The NCP supremo on Sunday said that it was difficult to say whether all three parties in the MVA would contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections together.
Addressing mediapersons in Amravati, Pawar said, “Today we are a part of the MVA and there is a willingness to work together. But desire alone is not always enough. Allotment of seats, whether there are any problems or not; all this has not been discussed yet. So how can I tell you about this?”
This sparked speculations about the future of MVA, leading to unease in Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), the other alliance partners.
Chief minister Eknath Shinde also used Pawar’s statement to take a dig at MVA and its future. “Sharad Pawar is a senior and experienced leader. He speaks with seriousness and his statements have importance. No one can think and understand what exactly he means. People are free to draw their conclusions,” the CM said.
Reacting to the NCP chief’s remarks, State Congress chief Nana Patole said his party has a clear view that the parties which have come together for the fight against BJP should be taken along. “What somebody thinks is not our concern, we have joined hands with a few parties in the fight against BJP. Their views may be different, but democracy in the country is under threat. Our position is clear, we will fight to save democracy and the Constitution with the parties who come along with us,” Patole said.
Meanwhile, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut reacted cautiously, saying that the media was taking a different meaning out of Pawar’s statement. “The MVA is strong. We are holding joint rallies. We are all together. On May 1, we are holding a historic rally in Mumbai. Senior leaders of all the three parties will be present. Sharad Pawar has played an important role in building this alliance. Uddhav Thackeray and Rahul Gandhi are there but Pawar is important and will remain,” Raut said.
After the row over his remarks, the NCP chief said that he is always in favour of the opposition unity and especially of the MVA. He added that no wrong inference should be drawn from his statement as he was merely stating that there was no talk of seat sharing yet.
