Mumbai: There was a lot of hype on Wednesday morning, as there was only question on everyone's minds, whether the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief, Sharad Pawar would spring some surprise. Many a critic who have seen many a monsoon of this veteran leader were skeptical.
True to his style, Pawar affirmed, the NCP and Congress will sit in the Opposition, since the public have given the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a mandate to form the government.
"People have given us the mandate to sit in the opposition and the Congress-NCP will do this job with utmost dedication," said Pawar addressing a press conference on Wednesday.
Pawar's statement came amidst speculation by Sena leader and Member of Parliament, Sanjay Raut that Sena has the support of 170 Legislators, which is more than the majority of 145, in the Maharashtra Assembly, which has 288 legislators. However, Pawar reiterated, these numbers does not include the NCP and Congress legislators.
“Even I am curious to know from where Mr Raut got his 170 legislators,” mocked Pawar.
He also mentioned, there is no chance of a Sena-NCP coalition, as both the Sena and BJP have been allies for more than two decades.
“BJP-Sena have the magic numbers, they must handle the situation and form their government at the earliest to avoid constitutional crisis in the state,” added the NCP chief.
Reportedly, the Congress interim president, Sonia Gandhi has shown disinterest in supporting Sena. Backing the statement, Pawar stated, the position of Congress and NCP on Sena is consistent.
“The decision of Congress on Sena is consistent. Both the NCP and the Congress have fought recent elections together and we won't take a call without taking each other into confidence, on any matter,” Pawar asserted.
Meanwhile, Wednesday morning, an hour before the meeting, Raut met Pawar at his Mumbai residence. Later at the press conference, Pawar stated his meeting with Raut was an apolitical one.
Showing concern to the ongoing agrarian crisis in Maharashtra due to the un-seasonal rains, Pawar urged the saffron alliance parties to form a government at the earliest, in order to assess the losses made by farmers immediately. "The insurance companies have not given the farmers money for over a year. The farmers have suffered losses and it needs to be investigated, for which we need a government at the earliest," said Pawar.
Pawar had recently visited Igatpuri and Nashik regions to inspect the crop damages after the unseasonal rains. He informed, the farmers have faced severe crisis and they have not received any support from the insurance companies.
The senior politician also stated, this is the first time since independence, that the country is going through an unprecedented economic slowdown.
