Highlights
- NCP chief Sharad Pawar claims BJP and NCP had an offer to come together in 2019
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his meeting with Sharad Pawar, proposed to form the government together
- Shiv Sena’s claim heats up on Sharad Pawar’s statement, BJP was desperate to form government in 2019
- BJP’s campaign could not succeed due to transparency among allies in MVA
Amidst the changed political equation after the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2019, BJP had invited NCP to come together. NCP chief Sharad Pawar has made this disclosure. He has claimed that after the Maharashtra elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted BJP and NCP to come together to form the government in the state. But, Sharad Pawar had told the PM that this is not possible.
Politics has intensified on this matter after Sharad Pawar’s remarks surfaced. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has targeted the BJP. Raut on Thursday claimed that the BJP was desperate to come to power after the 2019 elections. For this the party was ready to hold anyone’s hand. After the 2019 elections, Shiv Sena shook hands with the BJP and joined hands with the NCP and Congress alliance. At present, there is a government of Maha Vikas Aghadi, a coalition of all three parties in the state.
The alliance was broken on the issue of Chief Minister
Shiv Sena broke the alliance with BJP in the year 2109 on the issue of Chief Minister. After this the party led by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray then formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state along with NCP and Congress. During this there was talk of an alliance between BJP and NCP. The government was also formed under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, but this government could last only 80 hours. Sharad Pawar was against this alliance then.
agreed to meet the Prime Minister
Sharad Pawar admitted during a program that he and the Prime Minister had met. He was asked in the program whether he had told PM Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah that NCP and BJP can come together if BJP removes Devendra Fadnavis from the post of Chief Minister. To this Pawar said that it is true that he and Prime Minister Modi had met.
Pawar said that his (Prime Minister) wish was that we (NCP and BJP) should come together. However, I went to his (Prime Minister’s) office and told him that it is not possible. I told them we don’t want to keep them in the dark. Our approach is different.
PM asked to think on the proposal
Asked about the Prime Minister’s reaction, Sharad Pawar said that PM Modi asked him to think over the proposal. Pawar said that after the Maharashtra assembly elections, the government was not formed for about 90 days. With this proposal, Prime Minister Modi must have thought that by doing so (by tying up with NCP) a stable government can be formed in the state, he said.
When asked that the BJP, which had targeted the NCP over various alleged scams during the election campaign, had sought help from the same party. When asked about this, Pawar said he would not say that the BJP sought help from the NCP.
There was also mention of increasing bitterness with Congress.
Sharad Pawar also referred to the growing bitterness with the Congress after the assembly election results. He said that during several meetings between the Congress and the NCP after the Maharashtra assembly elections, the bitterness between the leaders of both the parties had increased. Pawar said that perhaps, the BJP leadership thought that this situation could be exploited and this is where they tried to explore the possibility.
Pawar also recalled one of his statements after the 2019 state elections that the NCP would think seriously if Fadnavis lacked some MLAs to form the government. He said that this further widened the gap between Shiv Sena and BJP. After this Shiv Sena was convinced that BJP leader Fadnavis would take some step.
Shivsena said attack on BJP
After the statement of the NCP chief, Shiv Sena has now become an attacker on the BJP. Party spokesperson Sanjay Raut claimed that the BJP was desperate for power in the year 2019. For this she was ready to take anyone’s hand. Talking to the media in Nashik, Raut said that if Sharad Pawar is saying this, then it should be true. Because, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged Pawar to stake claim for power in Maharashtra.
Raut said there was transparency between us (MVA partners). We knew who was talking to whom. Hence, the BJP did not succeed in its attempt to form the government in Maharashtra.
Sharad Pawar mentioned the offer to come together in order to meet PM Modi
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