India Alliance Only Focused On National-Level Elections: Sharad Pawar

Sharad Pawar confirmed no discussions within the INDIA bloc about state or local elections, focusing on national elections.

Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) leader Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said that there have been no discussions regarding the state or local elections within the INDIA bloc and claimed that the alliance's focus remains solely on national-level elections.

Speaking to the media here at a press conference, Sharad Pawar said, "There has never been any discussion on state and local elections in the INDIA alliance. INDIA alliance is only focused on national-level elections."

Pawar also revealed that discussions regarding the upcoming municipal elections in Maharashtra will take place in the next 8-10 days to decide whether to contest jointly or separately. "In the upcoming municipal elections in Maharashtra, everyone will decide by holding a meeting in 8-10 days whether we will fight together or alone," said the NCP SCP chief.

This comes after Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut earlier announced that his party will go solo in the upcoming municipal corporation in Mumbai and Nagpur.

"We will fight Mumbai and Nagpur Municipal Corporation on our own, whatever happens will happen. We have to see for ourselves. We will fight Nagpur on our own. Uddhav Thackeray has given us a signal. I just now discussed it with our city Shiv Sena chief Pramod Manmode," Raut told reporters.

The senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said that the decision comes with the view of strengthening the party at the local level. He said that workers don't get a chance to contest in general and assembly elections.

The senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader earlier had called upon the Congress party to take responsibility for saving the INDIA bloc, an alliance formed to contest the 2024 general elections. He expressed disappointment that not a single meeting of the INDIA alliance has been held since the elections, and it's up to the Congress party to convene one.

The alliance is currently facing challenges as the Congress and AAP in Delhi are at loggerheads ahead of the assembly elections, scheduled to be held on February 5.

NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar also spoke on the Delhi elections and expressed his support for former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal ahead of the upcoming assembly polls.

Pawar suggested that his party should assist Kejriwal in the electoral race, signalling potential political collaboration between the two leaders.

"In Delhi assembly elections, my feeling is that we should help Arvind Kejriwal," said Sharad Pawar.
The Delhi Assembly elections will be conducted in a single phase on February 5, with the counting of votes scheduled for February 8.

The last date for filing nominations is January 17, the date for scrutiny of nominations is January 18, and the last date for the withdrawal of candidacy is January 20.

The Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 consecutive years, has suffered significant setbacks in the last two assembly elections, failing to win any seats. In contrast, AAP dominated the 2020 assembly elections, winning 62 out of 70 seats, while the BJP secured only eight.

Earlier on Monday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) supremo Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday, saying that the people of Maharashtra ended the politics of "betrayal" and "backstabbing" in the last assembly elections.

The Home Minister, during his address at the party's state convention in Shirdi, slammed three-time Maharashtra CM Sharad Pawar for his "daga-patka" (back-stabbing) politics, alleging that this has been his strategy since 1978. Shah also attacked former CM Uddhav Thackeray for "leaving" the ideology and principles of his father, Balasaheb Thackeray.

Shah described the huge victory by the 'Mahayuti' alliance in Maharashtra, as a "milestone" that put the country's politics "back on track". He also praised BJP workers for their role in achieving this decisive mandate.

He further affirmed that the people's verdict clearly shows that people accept Eknath Shinde's p[party as the "real Shiv Sena" and Ajit Pawar's party as the "real NCP".

"The people of Maharashtra have done the job of keeping Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, who started the politics of deception and betrayal, at home," Shah added.