Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar has said that there is a need to give a political option to people and there was no issue of who will lead the anti-BJP alliance of opposition parties in the Lok Sabha elections on 2024. Pawar said that talks will be held during the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament to discuss a possible alliance. Pawar made the remarks while responding to a question on an anti-BJP alliance and whether West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee could lead that front.
“Who will be the leader of that alliance is not an issue. Today, there is a need to give an option, that is what people desire and we will take the support of various parties to fulfil people’s desire,” said Sharad Pawar.
The NCP supremo was addressing media after meeting the representatives of the Nagpur Vidarbha Chamber of Commerce (NVCC), who raised concerns over recent incidents of violence in parts of Maharashtra. The NVCC representatives told Pawar that innocent shopkeepers and traders become victims of violence and suffered losses.
Pawar also took a jibe at Congress state chief Nana Patole over the latter’s remark that NCP hardly has any presence in Vidarbha. “A person who had won the Lok Sabha and Assembly election as a BJP candidate earlier, his thinking and loyalty can be understood,” said Pawar while underlining that the Congress and the NCP are working together in the state.
Pawar had hosted leaders of eight opposition parties including TMC, SP, AAP, RLD and the Left at his Delhi residence in June this year and discussed various issues facing the country. The meeting was held amid speculation about the possibility of a third front against the BJP. Prior to the meeting, Pawar had met political strategist Prashant Kishor twice.
Trinamool Congress wants its leader and West Bengal Chief Minister as the PM candidate of the opposition alliance in 2024 but the Congress wants to stick with Rahul Gandhi as the face of the opposition. This has led to souring relations between both parties.