No need for MVA to declare CM face: Sharad Pawar

The chief ministerial candidate will be decided on the basis of which party wins the most number of seats in the alliance, he said.

Mumbai: The Maha Vikas Aghadi does not need to declare the chief ministerial candidate in the run up to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls as the alliance partners would take a call after that based on numbers, NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar said rejecting suggestions of Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray.

“The MVA would contest the polls under collective leadership,” said Pawar, a four-time former chief minister and ex-union minister.

Thackeray and his close aide and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut have been requesting the MVA leadership to declare the CM candidate which they feel would have an impact among the people.

However, the NCP (SP) and Congress are opposed to such an idea.

"There is no hurdle anywhere by not announcing the chief ministerial face. No need to think about it now. Who should lead should be decided according to the numbers. There is no need to make any arrangements before elections," he said.

Pawar also referred to the Emergency and the elections after that. “Who was the face during the Emergency? After the election, Morarji Desai’s name came forward. There is no need to demand a CM face now. We will sit together, and after getting the support of the people, we will give a stable government," he said, adding who the chief minister would be decided after the polls based on numbers.