Don’t want to become UPA chairperson: Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said he is not interested in becoming the chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), although he is ready to help if attempts are made to unite the opposition.

Pawar’s statement came days after his party’s youth wing passed a resolution for his appointment as UPA chairperson. “I am not going to take responsibility for leading the front. I have zero interest in it,” the NCP chief said in Kolhapur. “However, if efforts are made in this regard (uniting all opposition parties), then I’m ready to support, help and cooperate.”

Congress’s president Sonia Gandhi is currently the chairperson of the UPA. Taking the Congress along for a united opposition front would be a practical decision, Pawar said. “When people say opposition parties should come together, then the facts cannot be ignored. Mamata Banerjee’s party is very strong in West Bengal and has people’s support,” he said. “Others also have their own power centres in their respective states, but the Congress is the only party that has pan India presence. Even though they might not be in power, Congress workers can be found in every district and village.” “It (Congress) has a wide base, taking it along would be a practical decision,” Pawar said. “If that is considered, then something could happen out of it (united opposition front).”

Pawar said that he agreed with Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s comments on the need for the Congress to be a strong opposition party.

“To strengthen the parliamentary democracy, it is necessary to have a strong opposition, but if we talk only about one party, then we may (end up having another Vladimir) Putin (in India). Today, Putin and China (leadership) have passed resolutions that their regime will continue until their death, so we need a strong opposition to ensure we don’t have a Putin,” the former Union minister said.

He said West Bengal CM Banerjee wanted him and Maharashtra CM to hold a meeting to discuss the possibility of a strategy to field a common candidate for the July presidential polls. “We are yet to discuss it as other regional parties also have to be involved in it,” he said.