Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said that the outcome of the Assembly elections in four states will not have any impact on the I.N.D.I.A. alliance, comprising over 25 opposition parties led by the Congress. His statement comes as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to win the elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, while Congress is leading in Telangana.
As of 2:23 pm, the Congress is gaining on 65 out of 119 seats in Telangana, ahead of the incumbent Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) led by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. Congress' downfall in Chhattisgarh is surprising, given that all exit polls indicated that the Bhupesh Baghel-government will retain power in the state.
The NCP stalwart and opposition leader Pawar said that people must accept that the current trends are in favour of the BJP and that it is too early to say anything about Telangana, where the BRS is trailing the Congress. He also said that Rahul Gandhi's rally received a huge response in Telangana that boosted hopes of a change.
"I don't think this will have any impact on the INDIA alliance. We will be meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in Delhi. We will speak to those who know the ground reality. We will be able to comment on it after the meeting only," said Pawar.
Pawar's NCP is part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which was formed to take on the ruling BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. A faction of the NCP is allied with the BJP after a split in the party when his nephew Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra.
Earlier, Sharad Pawar said that Ajit Pawar taking oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 2019 was a wrong decision. He elaborated that it was Ajit's wish to align with the BJP but wasn't acceptable to us.
(with inputs from PTI)
ALSO READ | India's political map after BJP wins Hindi heartland - MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan under PM Modi
