Number game in MVA post-polls to decide CM: Sharad Pawar says no tussle

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said there was no need for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to declare a chief ministerial face ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls with his ally Shiv Sena (UBT) saying there was no tussle over the post.

The MVA's chief ministerial candidate will be decided on the basis of which party wins the most number of Assembly seats in the opposition alliance, he asserted.

The former Union minister's comments came in the wake of Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray's recent statement favouring declaration of the opposition bloc's CM candidate ahead of the polls which are likely to be held in November.

However, on Wednesday Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, who was in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in central Maharashtra, maintained there was no tussle among the MVA allies over the CM post. Talking to reporters in Kolhapur, Pawar said the decision on who will be the chief minister can be made after the poll results are out.

The NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) president insisted he wants the MVA to complete the seat sharing process and start the poll campaign at the earliest. "MVA leaders should sit for talks from September 7 to 9," the Rajya Sabha MP said, adding he expects the election process to be completed by the second week of November. Talks among the MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP) and Congress, should include the Peasants and Workers party (PWP), CPI and CPM as well, Pawar opined. "These parties have some pockets of influence in the state and they helped the MVA in the Lok Sabha elections," the veteran politician said. Last month, Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray had demanded that the opposition alliance name its CM candidate before the polls and he was ready to back any name announced by allies Congress and NCP (SP).

But the Congress had disagreed with Uddhav Thackeray, saying there was no need for a CM face before the elections. Pawar had then said his party wasn't interested in the top post and made it clear the MVA's focus should be on giving an alternative to people and defeating the ruling Mahayuti alliance. In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, son of Uddhav Thackeray, clarified there was no tussle among the three MVA constituents over the post of chief minister. Asked about Pawar's statement that the MVA's CM's face will be decided after the elections, he said, "It is OK. Internal discussions will take place. Nobody is fighting for the post of chief minister. But a tug-of-war over seats is expected to happen...Everyone should claim every seat." The former state minister declared that overthrowing the ruling dispensation of the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP from office was the aim of the opposition alliance. Aaditya Thackeray was speaking to reporters after arriving at the Chikalthana airport ahead of his visit to rain-hit villages in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Parbhani, Hingoli and Nanded districts. "It is clear that our fight is not against anyone. It is against the Maharashtra government and we want to overthrow the current dispensation in the state. It is our prime target," he said.