NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday, December 29 that when the UPA government was at the Center and the then Gujarat Chief Minister Modi was attacking former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, many leaders wanted action against Narendra Modi. But he and Manmohan Singh were not in favor of it.
Sharad Pawar was talking to Loksatta editor Girish Kuber about his political and social journey during a book launch event. He also revealed that the BJP was keen on an alliance with his party after the 2019 Maharashtra elections.
Many ministers wanted action against Modi but me and Manmohan were against it: Pawar
NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that some cabinet colleagues of the then UPA government were against Modi, the then Gujarat chief minister, when he and former prime minister Manmohan Singh did not want “vendetta politics”. They said, “It is partly true that Manmohan Singh and I were against indulging in vendetta politics against an elected chief minister, although some cabinet colleagues supported such action.”
He said that Modi was a serious critic of the Manmohan Singh government at that time. This increased the distance between Delhi and Gujarat. There was no one other than me who was ready to talk to Modi. Manmohan Singh accepted my point that we should not let political differences come in the way of development of the state.
Shiv Sena came together after hearing that I deliberately talked about alliance with BJP: Pawar
Sharad Pawar said that the BJP had tried for an alliance with the NCP after the 2019 Maharashtra elections, as relations between his party and the Congress were strained at that time.
The BJP and Shiv Sena fought these elections together but emerged as the single largest party, but could not form the government as it broke its alliance with Shiv Sena over the chief minister’s post.
Recalling the events after the state elections, Pawar said he had made a statement that the NCP was seriously considering supporting the BJP. This probably raised doubts in the mind of Shiv Sena, after which it decided to have an alliance with Congress and NCP.
Case 50-50 in UP elections, majority is difficult for any one party – Pawar
Regarding the upcoming assembly elections in UP, Pawar said, “It is 50-50… no one party government is visible. The way the Prime Minister went to Uttar Pradesh and announced several projects, it shows that the party (BJP) has taken the situation in the state seriously.
According to Pawar, the election decisions of states like UP and Madhya Pradesh play a decisive role in national politics. He said, “Modi did the right thing by contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi… Because of his decision, the people of Uttar Pradesh stood behind him… I fought 14 elections, out of which seven were Lok Sabha elections, but I never Didn’t think of contesting from here.”
I am still a supporter of Nehru’s ideology: Pawar
Asked whether he should have formed the MCP before 1999, Pawar said, “Though my family had a leftist political leaning, I was inspired by the ideology of Gandhi, Nehru and Yashwantrao Chavan. I was accepted by the Congress for six years. Because I had expressed my views openly in the party meeting… After that, I had to provide a platform for my supporters… But I never gave up the ideology of Gandhi, Nehru and Yashwantrao Chavan. ”
