More support for Pawar

DAYS after Sharad Pawar and Mulayam Singh Yadav met in Delhi as a part of a pressure building tactic on the Congress, the Shiv Sena, too, has got into the act.

DAYS after Sharad Pawar and Mulayam Singh Yadav met in Delhi as a part of a pressure building tactic on the Congress, the Shiv Sena, too, has got into the act.

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Its executive president Uddhav Thackeray told a press conference on the sidelines of a rally in Shirur that party boss Bal Thackeray has already cleared the stand on extending support to Pawar for prime ministership.

Thackeray senior, in the recent past, has showed willingness to support Pawar, a Marathi Manoos, as prime ministerial candidate.

But Uddhav avoided questions on the Sena joining hands with NCP, saying: “Such talks are usual. Now there is new talk going on but let me tell you, elections are still away.”

At the rally, Uddhav blasted the Congress, but kept mum about Pawar. Taking a dig at the Congress for its Muslim appeasement, he said his party’s priority is to see “any non-Congress government in the future”.

Uddhav’s latest statements assume significance at a time when his party is virtually in a tiff with its ally BJP over seat sharing ahead of the polls. The Sena has demanded more seats as well as swapping of few existing ones with the BJP, who is unwilling to give up to its ally.