MVA will win over 50 pc seats in Maharashtra Pawar he has the right to dream says BJP’s Sharma

    Ahmednagar, Apr 20 (PTI) Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the opposition MVA will win over 50 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra and claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speeches project him as “BJP’s PM” and not of India.

    Maharashtra BJP election in-charge Dinesh Sharma countered Pawar’s claim, asserting that the NCP (SP) chief has the “right to dream” and that PM Modi’s charisma will hand a resounding defeat to the “corrupt” Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the state.
    There are 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. As per the seat-sharing agreement among the three MVA parties, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is contesting 21 seats, Congress 17 and NCP (SP) 10. These three parties are fighting the national elections as part of the opposition INDIA bloc.
    Talking to reporters here, Pawar said there could be disagreements among the INDIA bloc partners over certain seats but the broader understanding is to win the polls to provide a stable government.
    The opposition won six seats in Maharashtra in the 2019 parliamentary polls – four by the undivided NCP and one each by the Congress and the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
    “We will win more than 50 per cent of seats in Maharashtra,” Pawar said.
    Hitting back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Pawar said instead of the BJP leader asking him the account of his work, the BJP leader should do the same as his government has been in power for the last two years.
    He said the entire world knows his work as the country’s Union agriculture minister from 2004 to 2014.
    Pawar blamed intense heat for the lower turnout in the five seats in the state, where polling was held in the first phase. He, however, said that it was necessary to ponder over the lack of enthusiasm among voters.

    Citing the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Pawar said never in the past was there such misuse of central agencies.
    During a campaign rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Pawar said PM Modi’s speeches project him as “BJP’s PM” and not of India.
    PM Modi should tell the people what he and his party will do for the country instead of attacking the opposition, he said while canvassing for MVA candidates Chandrakant Khaire, who is contesting from the Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency on a Sena (UBT) ticket, and Congress’ Kalyan Kale from Jalna.
    Pawar said, “I was listening to Narendra Modi’s speech before I came here. The prime minister belongs to the entire country. If we listen to Modi’s speeches, it seems he is the prime minister of BJP and not the country.”
    The NCP (SP) chief said PM Modi and BJP should tell the people what they will do for the country. “But sometimes they criticise Nehru (country's first PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru), sometimes Rahul Gandhi and also me at times,” he said.
    Incidentally, PM Modi on Saturday held rallies in Nanded and Parbhani constituencies in the state and attacked the opposition, particularly the Congress.
    According to a recent report by the International Labour Organisation, 87 of 100 students coming out of college are unemployed in India, claimed Pawar. He also accused the Centre and state government of doing nothing to address the “severe drought” in the Marathwada region and other parts of Maharashtra.

    In his counter to Pawar’s claim of MVA’s brighter chances, Maharashtra BJP election in-charge Dinesh Sharma said PM Modi’s charisma will ensure a resounding defeat of the “corrupt” MVA in the state.
    Sharma, a former Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister and Rajya Sabha member, said in a statement that he respects Pawar but the octogenarian leader was negating Modi’s charisma.
    “It is the same charisma that will deliver a resounding defeat to the corrupt Maha Vikas Aghadi,” he said.
    Sharma said MVA leaders have been alleging misuse of central agencies out of “dejection and despair over their impending defeat”.
    Calling the Congress a “champion in misusing agencies”, Sharma said probe agencies are working autonomously without government interference under the BJP rule.
    “Due to fear of punishment to the corrupt, the opposition is Levelling baseless accusations. BJP hasn’t split any party. All those associated with the BJP are the ones who believe in Modi's leadership and are ready to work for national development,” he said.
    Referring to Pawar’s claim of MVA winning more seats in the state, Sharma said he has all right to dream before votes are counted, which will happen on June 4.

    “I suggest MVA leaders to think about excuses for their defeat in advance. In Maharashtra, the opposition will struggle to win even a single seat. After UP, Maharashtra will contribute the highest number of seats to BJP’s kitty,” he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)