Aurangabad, Aug 16: NCP president Sharad Pawar on Wednesday asserted he will not align with the BJP and instead work towards bringing about a change in 2024 when the Lok Sabha polls will be held as he sought to downplay his last week’s meeting with politically estranged nephew Ajit Pawar.
He sought to nix speculation that the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) were working on a ‘Plan B’ to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls without his faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The Congress, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) are constituents of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
“The news of a ‘Plan B’ (by Congress and Sena-UBT to together contest polls) is wrong. No such plan is being made. There is a need for change in 2024 and therefore were are preparing for it, ” Sharad Pawar told reporters in Aurangabad ahead of his public rally in Maharashtra’s Beed district on Thursday.
Asked about his hush hush meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who has aligned with the BJP, in Pune last week, the senior Pawar said, “He is my family member. If any ceremony is planned in our family, naturally I will be consulted at that time.” Seeking to clear his stand on the much-talked about meeting with his nephew, which has caused unease among his allies Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT), the NCP patriarch asserted, “I will not go with the BJP. To stop unrest among people, we need to bring a change in 2024. We will do every possible to bring this change.” (PTI)
