Pawar seeks to maintain unity in Maharashtra coalition amid local polls dispute

Pawar stated on Tuesday that he would convene a meeting with top leaders of the three parties in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition

Mumbai: Sharad Pawar, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), will attempt to preserve coalition unity after Shiv Sena (UBT) announced its intention to contest upcoming local body elections independently. Pawar stated on Tuesday that he would convene a meeting with top leaders of the three parties in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition to explore the possibility of contesting local body polls together.

NCP President Sharad Pawar (PTI)

The veteran politician clarified that the mandate of both the INDIA alliance and MVA was limited to contesting elections at national and state levels respectively, rather than local body elections.

"The mandate for forming the INDIA alliance was to contest polls at national level. In alliance we have never discussed contesting together at the local self-government level," Pawar said regarding Sena (UBT)'s decision to fight the local body polls independently.

The MVA represented the first instance of opposition and ruling parties joining forces to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This unconventional yet relatively successful alliance in Maharashtra became a model nationwide, leading to the formation of the INDIA alliance, which united parties regardless of ideological differences. As the INDIA alliance shows signs of strain in the Delhi assembly polls, the MVA coalition appears similarly troubled following Sena (UBT)'s declaration to contest local elections independently.

Nevertheless, Pawar remains committed to maintaining unity and plans to arrange a meeting in the near future. "As far as MVA is concerned, we will hold a meeting in the next ten days and see if we can take a different stand in the state (on contesting local body elections together)," he said, adding, "It doesn't mean we are going to contest unitedly."

The 83-year-old statesman also addressed the Delhi assembly elections, where Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party and Congress are competing against each other despite their previous alliance within INDIA. "In my view, Delhi is the base of the Kejriwal led AAP. The people there have elected them twice in the past. We would have done something by taking him (Kejriwal) in confidence but that did not happen," he responded when questioned about the status of the INDIA alliance.

Pawar emphasised the necessity for consensus on national issues, indicating his willingness to take initiative in this regard.