Pune: NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said the MVA ’s focus on the coming assembly elections should be to ensure a change in govt and not on its chief minister’s face. Pawar’s comment comes amid Shiv Sena (UBT)’s insistence that MVA partners should declare the alliance’s CM face ahead of assembly polls . The NCP (SCP) chief’s stand that MVA should go to polls without any particular face as its CM candidate is on lines of Congress’s strategy.
“There is no need to pay much attention to the issue. People of the state are looking for an alternative. Our(MVA’s) focus should be to provide that alternative,” Pawar said while interacting with media in the city.
“Nobody in our party is interested in being projected as the chief minister face of the alliance. Our focus is to bring a change in the govt and ensure better governance,” he added. The seat-sharing formula among MVA members for assembly polls is yet to be finalised.
“A meeting of MVA partners to discuss the formula was called on Aug 20. However, the focus shifted because of the Badlapur incident. The meeting to discuss seat-sharing will now be held on Aug 27,” Pawar said.
When asked if former BJP member Samarjeetsinh Ghatge will join NCP (SCP), Pawar refused to divulge details and said, “I will hold a rally in Kagal on Sept 3.” On the Centre’s decision to provide him Z-plus security cover, he said, “When I enquired with some officials in New Delhi, I was told they had some ‘inputs�.