Mumbai: Ahead of upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that there is no need for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to declare a chief ministerial face. He asserted that decision on Chief Minister candidate will be made after the poll results. Sharad Pawar’s NCP-SP is part of opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance along with Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress party.
The chief ministerial candidate will be decided on the basis of which party wins the most number of seats in the alliance, said Sharad Pawar while speaking to reporters in Kolhapur. “The decision on who will be the chief minister can be made after the poll results. The candidate will be decided on the basis of which party wins the most number of seats within the alliance,” Pawar said,
Pawar said he would want the MVA to complete the seat-sharing process and start the poll campaign at the earliest. "MVA leaders should sit for talks beginning September 7 to 9," he said, adding he expects the election process to be completed by the second week of November.
Earlier, Sharad Pawar had asserted that the focus should be on defeating the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the upcoming assembly elections. "As far as my party is concerned, no one from my party is interested. We are not projecting anyone (as the CM face). We just want change in the government here as we want to give good governance to the state. So, who will or will not be the CM is not a question for me. It will not be me at least," said Sharad Pawar.
Sharad Pawar's remarks come amid Uddhav Sena's push to declare a chief ministerial candidate before the polls. Former chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has asked the MVA allies to decide on the chief ministerial candidate before polls, adding that he would support any name announced by Congress or the NCP-SP.
Backing Uddhav Thackeray's demand, party leader Sanjay Raut said that declaring CM face is crucial before the assembly polls, as it influences voters' choices. "The three MVA parties (Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP- SCP, Congress ) are working hard to change the state government. Uddhav Thackeray spoke with the same aim, whoever is nominated as the CM candidate, we will support him… People change their opinion by looking at the CM candidate. Had Rahul Gandhi been declared as the PM candidate on time, then we (INDIA bloc) would have won 25 to 30 more seats in the Lok Sabha Elections," said Rau
The Maharashtra Assembly polls are slated to take place later this year, but the Election Commission of India (ECI) is yet to announce the official schedule.