Former Union minister Sharad Pawar.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: At a time when the Congress and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) are in a tussle for the post of Chief Minister, veteran politician and NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar reiterated that it would be decided after the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections.
Pawar, who is the architect of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, has spoken out on the issue for the second time in a fortnight.
Thackeray and his close aide and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut have been rooting for a Chief Ministerial face for the opposition alliance irrespective of the party while Congress legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat said that the grand old party would have the top job.
“When the Janata Party was created, nobody thought that Morarji Desai was going to be the Prime Minister. Morarji Desai was elected as Prime Minister after the elections. Today, we want to give people confidence that we can offer them an alternative that works for their welfare. After the elections, we can decide who is chief minister, who is part of the cabinet,” Pawar told reporters in Chiplun in Ratnagiri on Monday.
Pawar said that the MVA seat-sharing process is under way in a structured manner.
“Any party and their karyakartas have the right to think that their party should be the largest party in the state. I can’t make any comment on this. We have created a committee on seat sharing with all three alliance partners. The final decision will be taken on who contests on which seat on 30 September-1 October,” he said.
Asked about the seats the NCP (SP) is expected to contest in the Konkan region, he said: “Whichever seats are left to us by other parties, we are happy to contest on all of those.”
Pawar was also critical of the publicity drive involving the Mukhya Mantri Ladki Bahin Yojana.
“I have worked in the Maharashtra government. For almost 24 years, I have been a part of the Maharashtra cabinet. For almost 15 to 16 years, I was a minister. For 9 years, I was Chief Minister. As per my understanding, when a government released a scheme, the money came from the government’s treasury. They didn’t come from my pocket. That’s why, we never put our photos and pretended like we were funding these schemes from our pocket,” he said.
Confident about the public’s support for the MVA’s agenda, he added,: “Today, we feel that the mindset of the people is to help us. That’s why, we are taking our agenda to the people. Others have the right to take their agenda to the people too. But the people will support our agenda.”
When asked about the Waqf Bill, Pawar cited NCP (SP) Working President Supriya Sule’s efforts in Parliament opposing the hasty passage of the bill and calling for a thorough review by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).
“When the Waqf Bill was introduced in Parliament, Supriya Sule firmly opposed it. She opposed rushing through and passing the bill in one day. She said, send the bill to a JPC and get opinions from all parties. This proposal was accepted. Now, the bill will be debated instead of being passed without discussion,” he added.
When asked about the Old Pension Scheme and its potential revival, Pawar said: “We will take a decision on this after coming to power.”
He explained that discussions and committee formations would be necessary to determine the best way forward on pension reforms.