Mumbai (Maharashtra): NCP president Sharad Pawar has said that his offer of outside support to the BJP in 2014 to form the government in Maharashtra was a 'political ploy' aimed to keep the Shiv Sena away from its then ally.
Pawar admitted that he took steps to "widen the distance between the BJP and Shiv Sena".
The two long-term saffron allies parted ways after the state Assembly elections last year over the issue of sharing the Chief Ministerial post.
Pawar said that after the last year's Assembly polls, BJP leaders approached him to support the Devendra Fadnavis government in the state, but he told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the NCP will not go with the BJP and if possible, it will form a government with Sena or sit in the opposition.
"The BJP does not believe that non-BJP parties have the right to function in a democratic setup," Pawar, who played a key role last year in the formation of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, said in an interview to Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana'.
The last of the three-part interview series was published in the Marathi daily on Monday. For the first time, a non-Shiv Sena leader has featured in a marathon interview series in the publication.
"I made the statement (after 2014 state polls) consciously since I did not want the Shiv Sena and BJP to come together. When I realised the post-poll alliance could materialise, I made that statement announcing readiness to support a BJP government from outside," Pawar said.
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"That did not work out. The Shiv Sena joined the government and the alliance government completed its full term," he noted.
The 78-year-old Maratha strongman said that he believed allowing the BJP to be in power in Maharashtra was not in the interest of the Shiv Sena and other parties.
"The power at the Centre was with the BJP (in 2014) and if it is the ruling party in Maharashtra, it would be a loss to the Shiv Sena. The BJP does not believe that non-BJP parties have the right to function in a democratic setup. I knew all other parties face a danger. The statement offering
outside support was a political ploy," he said.
"I accept that I took steps to widen the distance between the BJP and Shiv Sena," the veteran politician said.
Pawar rejected the claim of former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that he (Pawar) was in talks with the BJP to form the government last year and then took a "U-turn".
"Some BJP leaders spoke to my colleagues and me about government formation, saying they did not want the Shiv Sena on board. They said since I had good relations with the Prime Minister, he should intervene and I should give my approval," he said.
"Hence, to avoid any confusion and perception about myself and my party, I met the Prime Minister in his chamber at Parliament House and told him the NCP will not go with the BJP. If possible, we will form a government with the Shiv Sena or sit in the opposition," Pawar said.
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Targeting Fadnavis over his remarks that Pawar was in talks with senior BJP leaders to form government in Maharashtra, he said, "Where was he? I do not think he has a place in the decision-making process at the national level."