Lok Sabha Elections 2019: No mahagathbandhan before polls, says NCP chief Sharad Pawar

In an interview to CNN-News18, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar has said he doesn’t the likelihood of a mahagathbandhan or grand alliance before the general elections. His statement comes in at a time when their key ally, the Congress, is driving all the regional parties to come together and form an ‘anti-BJP’ bloc.

Pawar told the news channel that a mahagathbandhan is “not practical”, adding that he does not see the possibility of that before Lok Sabha polls, even though some “friends” want it.

Laying emphasis on the significant electoral base that regional parties have in their respective states, the political veteran said these parties would not consolidate their position being a part of a gathbandhan.

Pawar cited the examples of key players in some states – Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh; K Chandrashekhar Rao’s  TRS in Telangana, Mamata Bannerjee’s Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal in Odisha – saying they will garner votes as state players.

He also said Congress will be the “number one paty” in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Punjab.

However, Pawar asserted that the possibility of parties coming together to form a grand coalition after elections was viable. He said the leaders will come together because the entire “thrust of this election is against the BJP”. Pawar was confident that the all forces will come together with an alternative “so as not to hand the country’s reins to the BJP”.

On the possibility of Congress President Rahul Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister, Pawar said an individual’s “acceptability is important”.