Sharad Pawar wants seat-sharing talks to begin soon, responds to Saamana criticism

Maharashtra's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has called for early seat-sharing talks among Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi partners ahead of the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, expected to be held in May and November 2024 respectively. The NCP, which has 53 MLAs and four MPs, wants a larger share of seats than its allies, Shiv Sena and Congress. Pawar also rejected an editorial in a Sena (UBT) publication questioning his ability to groom a successor and create new leadership, saying the NCP is a family that knows how to lead and create new leaders.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said it’s time the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners started seat-sharing talks even though the Lok Sabha and assembly elections are expected to be held in May and November 2024 respectively.

Mumbai, India - May 02, 2023: NCP leaders, workers, supporters of Sharad Pawar protest in solidarity against his resignation as party president urging him to reconsider his decision, at Y.B. Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, May 02, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

“After reaching Mumbai this week, I am going to talk to my party colleagues, and leaders of alliance partners like Uddhav Thackeray and Nana Patole, and other smaller parties. This is because there must be clarity on the direction we want to take, which will increase people’s trust in the MVA,” Pawar said at an event in Satara where he shared the dais with his nephew and leader of opposition in the assembly, Ajit Pawar.

A senior NCP leader said since they had more members in the Lok Sabha and the assembly than their allies – Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress –, they would prefer to have the lion’s share when the seat allocations were finalised.

This was the second time in two days that Pawar pushed for early talks on seat distribution. Currently, the NCP has 53 MLAs and four MPs while the Sena (UBT)’s strength, after last year’s vertical split, has reduced to 16 MLAs and five MPs. The congress on the other hand has 44 legislators.

Reacting to an editorial in Saamana, mouthpiece of Sena (UBT), Pawar said the NCP is a family and they know how to create new leadership.

“Sanjay Raut (executive editor of the publication) doesn’t know what we have done. The NCP’s characteristic is that we discuss things, come out with different opinions but we do not publicise them as it is our family matter. As a family we also know how to lead the party and how to create new leadership,” he said.

The veteran leader went on to explain how he had in 1999 introduced new faces such as Jayant Patil, Ajit Pawar, Dilip Walse Patil and RR Patil in the state cabinet when the NCP came to power for the first time in alliance with the Congress.

“The entire Maharashtra saw how efficient they were. Thus, it is not important if someone writes that we create (new leadership) or not. It is his (Raut’s) right to write, but we ignore it,” he added.

Amid speculations that Ajit Pawar along with a group of NCP MLAs was planning to join hands with the BJP, Pawar senior on May 2 announced his intent to resign from the post of party president.

A few days later, Saamana carried an editorial that said, “Sharad Pawar is no doubt a big national leader, and his words are valuable in national politics. But he has failed to groom a successor who can take the party forward, and that’s why everyone in the party was shocked after his announcement about stepping down.”

After Pawar withdrew his resignation, NCP leaders said, the mood in the party is upbeat. Pawar too agreed to this: “It is true that after I took back my resignation, the cadre have been galvanised. This will be useful in the coming elections.”