Mumbai: Exuding confidence in the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar staked claim on the four traditional seats of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) as well as some of the Lok Sabha constituencies of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
Addressing NCP workers at a two-day study workshop in Karjat, Pawar also said that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is the need of the hour and again reiterated that a caste census should be done in the context of the Maratha reservation demand.
“We will definitely fight these seats (Baramati, Satara, Shirur and Raigad), but along with it, we will also try to fight some of the seats that are with the Shiv Sena-UBT where our NCP is stronger. For this, we will discuss with (Eknath) Shinde and the BJP,” Pawar said.
Only Raigad is with the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP, while Baramati is represented by his cousin Supriya Sule in the Lok Sabha. Sule maintains cordiality with Pawar despite him splitting her father’s party to join hands with Shinde and the BJP in July.
Later, the BJP and the Shiv Sena — the other ruling allies in Maharashtra— asserted that any seat-sharing talk will be held together by the three parties.
“The Mahayuti (alliance) will fight the Lok Sabha and assembly elections together. We will make sure that we will together give 45 seats to PM Modi. For that, we will all fight the elections tooth and nail. Even Ajit dada said the same thing,” Shinde told reporters in Nagpur.
“Our target is to make sure that we have 400-plus seats this time in the Lok Sabha,” BJP MLA Ram Kadam told ThePrint. “And for this, Maharashtra will be a contributor too. All three party heads will sit together and discuss the seat sharing, and the seats will be decided on the basis of winability. But one thing is sure, there is no rift between us and seat sharing will be smooth.”
In fact, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, too, had asserted that a seat-sharing formula for the Lok Sabha election would be decided after holding discussions. “Discussions are yet to begin and a formula will be decided only after the deliberations. The basis of the formula will be: the seats should go to those (parties) who have already contested that particular constituency,” Fadnavis told the media about his remarks that the BJP would contest 26 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra while the two allies in the rest 22.
Earlier in the day, Pawar spoke at length about the ongoing Maratha quota churn in Maharashtra and called for patience from all communities.
The deputy chief minister raised concerns over the rift being created between different castes in the state because of provocative speeches by leaders across the board. Such provocation should be stopped to avoid any communal riot, he insisted.
“Everyone feels proud about their caste but one should not keep any hatred towards others. We all should take care of it. We, as a government, also need to make sure that while talking about giving quota to one caste, injustice is not done to other castes,” he asserted.
Incidentally, Pawar’s party colleague and state minister Chaggan Bhujbal is at odds with Sena and BJP colleagues over his opposition to the OBC reservation demand by the Maratha community at large.
Pawar stressed the need to do a caste census to ensure that appropriate reservation is given to castes in need of it, even if that means pushing the envelope of the current quota. Empirical data is needed to ascertain the backwardness of Marathas and that requires patience from the Maratha community, he added.
As for the implementation of the UCC, the NCP leader suggested that deliberations were the way forward for all stakeholders.
“There are misconceptions about the Uniform Civil Code among backward classes, tribals, Dalits — that it will affect reservation. No, it won’t happen. I think that it is time to have a detailed discussion, and I am merely putting the idea forth,” he said.
“In addition, it is time to have a law on birth control as only two children should be allowed for a couple. If we do not do this now, our natural resources are not going to be enough. If Narendra Modi wants to bring a law, he should.”
Criticising the opposition INDIA bloc, he said that the country needs a stable government under the leadership of PM Modi.
“How can this front run the government at a time when we have a leader who is leading the country and making a name for the country at a global level? These people cannot decide on one leader, or a logo, or even a place to hold meetings,” he said in a swipe at the opposition leaders.
On the Opposition criticising him for joining hands with the BJP, Pawar said, “Mamata didi, Nitish Kumar, Mehbooba ji, Farooq Abdullah have been with the BJP in the past. We are not criticising them. But why criticise us for joining hands with the BJP?”
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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