Sharad Pawar should helm UPA, Congress reminds him of its MVA support: Raut

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is "paralysed" now, and hence a non-Congress leader like Sharad Pawar should head that coalition.

He made the statement while speaking to reporters in New Delhi.

"The UPA is paralysed now. I think NCP chief Sharad Pawar should lead the UPA at the national level," he said.

Raut has made this suggestion a few times in the recent past.

When asked whether other parties support his demand, he said, "I don't think any regional party in the country has objection to Pawar heading the UPA. All of us are opposing the BJP at the moment."

Reacting to Raut's statement, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, "Shiv Sena is not even part of the UPA. Had it been part of the UPA, I would have understood...He (Raut) should desist from making such remarks."

Another Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha member Husain Dalwai said, "Shiv Sena got more seats (in the last Maharashtra Assembly election), hence it got the chief minister's post. But the Sena is still not part of the UPA. There is no need to take Raut's statement seriously."

"Raut should not forget that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government could be formed because the Congress extended its support. He should not say something like this and stoke a controversy," Dalwai said.

After the 2019 Assembly poll results, the Shiv Sena had joined hands with the NCP and the Congress to form the MVA government to keep the BJP away from power. Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray heads the government.