NCP Chief Shawar Pawar (File) Days after the NCP youth wing proposed his name for the post of UPA chairman, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday clarified that he was not interested in holding the post and, instead, backed the Congress for the role. The NCP youth wing, however, said it will persuade him to take up the post so as to unite the Opposition and take on the BJP in the 2024 elections.
“I am not interested in holding the UPA chairman’s post. Parties which have a mandate should come together and offer an alternative,” Pawar said, addressing a press conference in Kolhapur on Sunday. “I will support and extend all possible help to bring the Opposition together,” he added.
Elaborating on why he was not keen on the UPA chairmanship, Pawar said, “I am not going to take the responsibility of leadership. A few days ago, our party’s youth wing passed a resolution recommending my name for the UPA chairman’s post, but I am not at all interested in it. I will not get into this; if the Opposition parties are ready to come together and provide an alternative, I will support them.”
Underlining the role of the Congress, Pawar said, “Political parties have power centres in different states, but the Congress is one such party which has a presence in varying degrees in every state of the country. The Congress might be away from power in Delhi, but a Congress worker is present in every district and village of the country. Therefore, if an alternative is being sought, then the party which has more reach should be kept in mind and that will be fit.”
“If leaders from different political parties are going to keep this in mind, then the possibility of finding an alternative cannot be ruled out. If we say that opposition parties should come together, then we cannot ignore the factual position,” he pointed out.
Reacting to Pawar’s refusal to hold the post of UPA chief, NCP youth wing working president Ravikant Varpe said, “Though our party chief may have said no, we will persuade him to accept the post in the larger interest of Opposition unity as he is the only leader who is capable of bringing everyone together. All non-BJP parties are looking up to him to lead the Opposition in the 2024 elections. Be it West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee or the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, they are all keen on Pawar taking over the UPA chairman’s post.”
While Mamata met Pawar in Delhi last week and discussed various possibilities, the Sena has also openly backed Pawar for the post. “The NCP chief has wider acceptability and should become the UPA chairman to firm up Opposition unity ahead of the 2024 polls,” said Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut. However, Congress leader and Maharashtra minister Ashok Chavan said, “Sena is not a part of the UPA. First, it should join the UPA and then speak about who should be its chairman.”
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