Pawar acknowledges differences among Oppn, emphasises unity for LS polls

MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday acknowledged there are differences of opinion among opposition parties over putting up a united front in some state polls but there also a feeling that all must fight the Lok Sabha polls together.

Addressing a press conference, Pawar said the trends of the Assembly polls (in five states set to be held in November) suggest the situation is favourable for the opposition, but added he had no authentic information to comment on whether there would be a change (in government) at the national level. The Bharatiya Janata Party does not have governments in a majority of states, including Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Punjab, he pointed out. He pointed out there are states where the Congress is an important party and so are regional outfits because of which these issues must be resolved across the table.

Pawar, a key leader of the 28-party opposition bloc Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), cited the example of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, which is effectively a “strong” party in West Bengal, but the Left parties or the Congress cannot be “bypassed”. He said people have been urging him to expedite the work of INDIA alliance, which means more work has to be done on it.