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By India Today News Desk: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday snubbed Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) over an editorial in the party’s mouthpiece Saamana. He said that NCP leaders who were groomed by him had already proved their mettle in politics and that everybody was aware of how to take the party forward.
Sharad Pawar’s comments came a day after Saamana said Pawar has failed to create a successor who could take his party forward. The editorial was based on Pawar’s decision to step down as NCP president, which he withdrew after three days after it caused consternation among party leaders and workers.
No importance to Sanjay Raut’s writing
Notably, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) is one of the three constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) along with the NCP and Congress.
“We do not attach any importance if someone is writing about whether we create new leadership or not. It is their prerogative (to write), but we ignore it. We know what we are doing, and we are satisfied with it,” Pawar told reporters in Satara.
“They ( Shiv Sena-UBT) do not know what we have done. It is our speciality that in NCP, we all work as colleagues and dwell upon various issues. At times, different opinions emerge (among us) but we do not go out and make them public. It is our family issue. Everybody in NCP knows how to take the party forward, and they know how the new leadership has been groomed in the party,” he said.
Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan should check his stature
He further questioned the “stature” of Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan in his own party after the latter targeted the NCP for fielding its candidates in the upcoming Karnataka Assembly polls.
“He (Chavan) should check his stature in his own party…whether it is A, B, C or D. Any colleague from his party would tell you in private,” the NCP chief said.
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Chavan had earlier also expressed disagreement with Pawar’s claim that the Congress leadership was stubborn during the talks for the formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi in 2019.
Pawar was in Satara where some reporters asked him about Chavan’s reported comments that Nationalist Congress Party was the ‘B’ team of BJP in Karnataka after the NCP fielded its candidates for the Assembly polls. To this, Pawar said, “He (Chavan) should check what stature he has in his own party…whether it is A, B, C or D. Any colleague from his party would tell you in private.”
NCP’s presence in Karnataka polls
Speaking about fielding candidates in the Karnataka polls, the party founder said that the NCP wanted to make an entry into that state with the aim of expanding the party base.
“We did not hold any discussions with the Congress or other allies in Karnataka, as we wanted to start from scratch,” he said.
“The reason why we did not hold any discussions with the Congress was that the NCP wanted to start from scratch in the state. When there is an alliance with another party, it is imperative to provide strength that party. But, as we were starting from scratch, it was not possible to give the assurance that we would be able to provide strength if we go with them,” he said.
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