Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has said that the Congress has asked him to lead the Congress-NCP campaign for the Maharashtra Assembly elections and that while he was willing to play that role, he was not interested in the Chief Minister’s post.
“I am willing to lead the campaign but I am not available for the Chief Minister’s post. I am not interested in State politics,” Mr. Pawar told reporters on Friday. The State’s Assembly polls are due in October.
Mr. Pawar confirmed that the Congress was considering a change of guard in Maharashtra ahead of the polls. However, he said his party had made no such demand. “It seems that the Congress wants to change the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Assam and Haryana — the three States going to the polls. But the NCP has not made any demand for a change in Maharashtra’s Chief Minister,” he said.
He said his meeting on Friday with senior Congress leaders A.K. Antony and Ahmed Patel on Friday mainly centred on strategising for the Maharashtra elections.
Mr. Pawar also indicated that the NCP will be making changes within its state leadership and also among its Cabinet Minis-ters ahead of the polls.
