Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday noted that senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar has merely resigned as the party chief not from the party itself, adding that he would continue to seek advice from the veteran politician.

The senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said that Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena faction is keeping a close eye on the political developments within the NCP and he has discussed the matter with the Thackeray scion.

Commenting on Sharad Pawar’s decision to step down as NCP chief, Sanjay Raut said that Pawar has not resigned from the party and will continue to work for the NCP, Maharashtra and the nation as a whole.

Raut said Shiv Sena (UBT) supremo Uddhav Thackeray discussed the situation and the party is closely watching all the political developments within the NCP, adding that he, Thackeray and their party, would continue to seek Sharad Pawar’s guidance whenever needed.

Sanjay Raut said that the opinions expressed by Sharad Pawar in his book about Uddhav Thackeray are his personal and Thackeray will soon answer all the questions regarding those in a future interview in Sena mouthpiece Saamna.

In his book, Sharad Pawar, who quit as the president of NCP on Tuesday, has said that Uddhav Thackeray stepped down as Maharashtra CM without a fight after failing to quell the discontent within Shiv Sena which led to the party being split into two factions.

On Tuesday, in a shocking turn of events, NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar, 82, resigned as party president, a post which he held since the NCP was formed in the year 1999.

The veteran leader announced his resignation while speaking that at the launch of his autobiography with nephew Ajit Pawar at his side , at the Yashwantrao Chavan Hall.

Sharad Pawar’s sudden resignation has stunned political circles across the country.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of looting Rs 1.5 lakh crore from poll-bound Karnataka in the last three and a half years.

Addressing a public meeting at Indi in Karnataka’s Vijaypura, the Congress General Secretary alleged that the BJP looted Rs 1.5 lakh crore from the state in the last last three and a half years, adding that with that sum of money one could’ve built 100 AIIMS hospitals, 30,000 smart classrooms and houses for 30 lakh poor people.

Gandhi said the BJP has no relevant issues to talk about in front of people so they conjure up a new issue everday which has no bearing on the state’s development.

On Tuesday, Priyanka Gandhi had urged the people of Karnataka to vote for the Congress while accusing the BJP of “stealing democracy.”

Addressing a poll rally on Tuesday, Gandhi said: “Addressing a public rally in poll-bound Karnataka, Priyanka Gandhi said, “Nowadays, there are various types of thieves in the country, some steal from houses…now, some thieves ‘who steal the governments’ have also come, they are stealing the democracy…stop them.”

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Last week, the Congress, which seeks to oust the BJP from power in Karnataka, had announced that the Communist Party of India (CPI) will, without any pre-conditions, back the Congress on 215 seats in this month’s Assembly elections.

Addressing a presser, senior party leader Randeep Surjewala said the Congress reached out to the CPI— who recently announced their support for the grand old party in the May 10 polls— and it was agreed that the entire CPI cadre will “whole-heartedly without any pre-condition or expectation” support the Congress candidates in their battle to oust the ruling BJP from power.

Surjewala said that both parties have agreed that there will be a “friendly contest” on seven seats where the CPI has fielded its candidates but will completely back the Congress on the remaining 215 seats.

Karnataka goes to polls on May 10 and results for the 224-member Assembly will be announced on May 13.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, accusing the opposition party of promoting “abuse culture” even as he urged the people of Karnataka to punish them by voting for the BJP while chanting ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ in the May 10 polls.

Addressing a public meeting in Uttara Kannada district of the poll-bound state, PM Modi claimed that the Congress hate and abuse him because he tore down their “corrupt system”, adding that the grand-old party was seeking votes in the upcoming elections in the name of a retiring party leader and by abusing him.

Urging the people to reject Congress’ “abuse culture”, PM Modi asked the people to punish those who indulge in abusing others by simply voting against them in the elections while chanting ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’….”Will anyone in Karnataka accept this abuse culture? Will anyone like abusing someone? Does anyone like even a small man being abused? Will Karnataka forgive those abusing?” “What will you (people) do this time? Will you punish them? Will you punish the abusers?… When you press the button in the polling booth, punish by saying ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’.”

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PM Modi claimed that the Congress has lost all credibility due to its decades of “misrule” while the BJP’s only goal is to transform Karnataka into the country’s number one state for which the saffron party has already charted a roadmap.

The Prime Minister further accused the Congress of only working towards its own development during its decades-long rule at the Centre and the states, adding that the Congress had installes a system to ensure that its leaders’ coffered remain filled to the brim with “black earnings.”

PM Modi also accused the Congress of being involved in the “fake name scam” under which people who didn’t even exists were allegedly registered under fake names as government beneficiaries.

The Prime Minister claimed that during Congress rule,  around 10 crore fake names were existed in government beneficiaries list from across the country and recieved money under these schemes meant for the poor and the needy.

PM Modi alleged that the money received under fake names from these schemes went into the pockets of Congress leaders, all the way to the party’s upper hierarchy.

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