Mumbai: Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena, a coalition that worked out after NCP’s leader Ajit Pawar attempted to secretly form a government with BJP’s Fadnavis.
Speaking about this alliance in Maharashtra that led to Maha Vikas Aghadi government, the important part was played by NCP’s chief Sharad Pawar, Indian Express reports.
When asked for how long will this Maha Vikas Aghadi government last despite different ideologies and opposition parties, the NCP chief replied: Despite the difference in ideologies, opposition parties can form an alliance to form a majority by working on a common minimum programme that is required to form a government in a state.
Speaking of the year 1999 where Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee successfully ran the administration for five years with opposition parties forming an alliance.
The decision was a big success since Mr Vajpayee decided to keep some of the BJP’s views and programmes aside.
Speaking of Maharashtra, he said NCP and Congress have been against each other for the past but now have come into an alliance for the stability of the state which is a common minimum programme.
When asked how NCP has worked on the word compromise with Shiv Sena and Congress parties? He replied, that compromise was not achieved by only NCP, it was from Shiv sena and the Congress too.
Initially, we thought the government should be led by both parties, two-and-a-half years each. But the Sena insisted on five years. So we said alright, you run. The compromise from our side was this.
At first, the parties thought the government should be led by both parties equally for two-and-half-years, Sena insisted on five years to which NCP had to accept as a compromise.
In a coalition government, it is a sort of guarantee to various sections that nothing will happen.
When parties with different stands on certain issues come together and give confidence to the public at large the message is in the interest of society.
When asked about the ruling party pressing on Citizenship Bill, he said NCP is not favourable to this move and that it does not support the BJP for this move.
When asked about the alliance carried out by senior leaders, Sharad Pawar said the real (push) was by Maharashtra’s Congress Legislative Party that is dominated by youngsters, more than 70 per cent. It was this 70 percent that had insisted on the alliance.
NCP is a political party that runs on its own programme and that the party does not see the need to merge with any other national party he replied to a question on merging with Congress.
Speaking of onion prices that has sky-rocketed in various states, he said four months back the farmers were dumping onions on the streets since the Centre did not provide a better price then.
For this, the farmers have decided to shift from onion and now we are importing from Turkey which was a grave mistake on the ruling party’s part.