'UPA will need support of Left, secular parties'

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who sees his best chance to have a shot at prime ministership in post-poll scenario, tells Makarand Gadgil about his political options and says that the person who is acceptable to all allies will become the prime minister

It is perceived by many that the country is going to face a situation like 1996-1998, when many so-called third front parties came together and formed the government on outside support of the Congress, which was instable!
Absolutely not. Stability is the biggest election issue this time, as the entire world is going through an unprecedented recession. Although we are among those nations least hit by the downturn, the crisis has impacted us and the country needs a government which will steer it out of this crisis.

In today’s situation, no government is possible without the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a part of it. However, the Congress and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) seem to have an edge over the BJP or NDA, as not many parties are comfortable with the kind of politics which BJP practises. Yet, I feel that the UPA will need the support of Left and other secular parties. Even after the 2004 elections, we could form the government only after getting support from the Left.

But do you think the Left will support the Congress-led government, as CPM general secretary Prakash Karat has categorically denied any such possibility? 
All this is election rhetoric; no one should take this at face value. They will do some tough talking, even some hard bargaining, but under any circumstances, they will not act in a manner which will pave the way for the BJP or NDA to form the government.

And who should be the leader of the government can be decided after poll results are declared when all coalition partners will meet and explore various options.

So, you are not ruling out the possibility of throwing your hat in the ring for prime ministership?
The person who is acceptable to all allies will become the prime minister. I am a pragmatic politician; my party is contesting a very limited number of seats and so I am fully aware of the limitations of both me and my party.

There was lot of talk about growing closeness between you and the Shiv Sena, which has also declared its support to a Maharashtrian as the next prime minister. Do you feel they (Shiv Sena) will support you after the elections if the situation arises?
I don’t mix personal relations with political ones, so when I went to meet Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray, I just went to enquire about his health, as he was hospitalised. But since we are living in the days of 24x7 media, it got blown out of proportion. Even if they (Shiv Sena) are ready, the Left or other secular parties will not accept them.

How do you rate the performance of the UPA government?
If the country is today isolated from the effects of the economic slowdown, it is because of the policies and approach of the government. No democratic country has been able to achieve 8 per cent growth on an average for the last few years.

The main reason for this sustained growth was due to growth in agriculture sector. As planned, we managed to achieve agricultural growth of 4 per cent in the financial year of 2007-08 and expect to reach it in the last fiscal also. However, if we have to overcome this current economic slowdown, the government will need to fund in building infrastructure and design policies, which will give confidence to the private sector to invest in agriculture.