Punjab results 'shock' for Cong, AAP's record in Delhi helped it: Pawar

The results of Assembly elections in Punjab are a "shock" for Congress while the Aam Aadmi Party benefited because of the performance of its government in Delhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said here on Thursday.

He also made a pitch for initiating a "process" to give an alternative to the BJP by bringing opposition parties together. Trends and available results suggested that Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP was on its way to sweep Punjab by ousting Congress. Punjab is a state where Congress was in powerthe change in Punjab is not favourable to the BJP (either). The result gives a shock to the Congress, Pawar told reporters here.

The AAP's governance in Delhi helped it in Punjab as the common people living in the national capital have accepted the Kejriwal-led party, the NCP chief noted. He also spoke about the need to initiate a process to give an effective alternative to the BJP by opposition parties on the basis of a common minimum programme. I am not saying this will happen tomorrow itself. Parliament's session will resume on March 14. We will all be there for a month. So we will sit together, discuss and decide the future course of action," Pawar said.

It will be our duty to help people strengthen democracy by taking steps together, he added. The veteran leader dismissed the possibility of the poll outcome in five states having any impact on the future of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra.