There were differences among parties in some states within the opposition INDIA bloc, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Rajya Sabha member Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday. He said senior leaders from other states within the bloc would try to resolve these issues.
Speaking to reporters in Kolhapur, Mr. Pawar, who heads the NCP faction which was recently given the name ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’, said that a meeting of the INDIA alliance had not been convened of late.
Mr. Pawar said: “In Uttar Pradesh, there is an absence of understanding over the seat-sharing formula. The other state is West Bengal, where there are some more problems. The reason being that parties there like the TMC, the CPI(M) and Congress have been traditionally opposed to each other.”
Also Read | Congress says seat-sharing talks with INDIA bloc partners are on, will be finalised at any point of time
Breaking and poaching
“Our strategy is that wherever it is possible, we are addressing the issues, and wherever there are differences, like the states I have mentioned, senior leaders, especially from outside that state, sit and address these issues and that process will start soon,” he said.
Later, addressing a rally of his NCP faction workers in Manchar in Pune district, Mr. Pawar lashed out at PM Narendra Modi and the BJP for breaking parties and poaching non-BJP leaders by misusing central agencies.
Also Read | Opposition block: On the INDIA bloc staring at a crisis
“The former Jharkhand CM [Hemant Soren] was put in jail on some vague charge. Arvind Kejriwal runs Delhi in an excellent manner. But Mr. Modi cannot digest this. So, Mr. Kejriwal was hounded with 60 notices. Some of his ministers were put in jail. Perhaps even Kejriwal will be arrested tomorrow,” Mr. Pawar said.
He observed how his faction’s leader and former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh was put in jail for six months on a charge that was never proved.
“Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut’s writings offended the powers that be. So, he was jailed as well. There is a slogan prevailing in the country today ‘Better BJP than jail’. This is the slogan that leaders from many states have begun to accept. This is the country’s political condition today. In Maharashtra, I established the NCP but the BJP broke the party and many leaders moved there,” Mr. Pawar said.
