Mumbai
Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar on Thursday said that the people of the State had shown that arrogance of power was not welcome.
Mr Pawar made the statement while addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday afternoon. As per present trends, NCP is leading on 57 seats while BJP on 101, and the Shiv Sena and Congress are leading on 58 and 44 seats respectively.
“The elections results are a beginning of change in Maharashtra. The results show that the people don't like the arrogance of power. When you detach yourself from the ground realities, the people do not welcome it. The Bharatiya Janata Party's claims of crossing 220 seats have not been accepted by the people,” Mr Pawar said.
He expressed his thanks to the opposition for fighting like a solid unit and took note of the unity showed by the Congress and NCP.
“Many leaders crossed their limits while making statements in their campaigns. Barring a few exceptions, the people have not supported the turncoats. The people have given us the mandate to sit in Opposition and we will follow it,” he said.
The veteran leader also took a dig at the ruling government and the conspicous absence of its leaders in Maharashtra, as well as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his statements about him.
“I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for coming to Maharashtra at least for the sake of elections. I also did not know that Mr Fadnavis knew astrology, which could have been the only reason why he said that Pawar's politics is finished in Maharashtra. It is now clear that these were only personal comments and he had nothing else to offer,” Mr Pawar said.
The recent action by the Enforcement Directorate also found mention in his statements. The ED had issued Mr Pawar a notice, asking him to appear for inquiries in connection with the Cooperative Bank scam investigation. NCP leader Praful Patel was also quizzed for around 12 hours regarding his alleged links to gangster Iqbal Memon alias Iqbal Mirchi.
"ED notices and inquiries are the tactics used by ruling party and are examples of misuse of power," he said.
He announced that the NCP would have a meeting of its Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) after Diwali, and that the party would now start promoting the new leadership.
He also referred to the trailing of BJP candidate Udayanraje Bhosle in Satara, who had switched to BJP from NCP few weeks ago.
“ The Lok Sabha by-poll was much talked about. If the position is to not respect the Satara throne, then the people have shown the right place. I thank the people of Satara for their support and I will be going to Satara to congratulate them,” he said.
