Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar has summoned a meeting of party leaders in Mumbai on Saturday in order to discuss final plans for the upcoming Karnataka elections on May 10. The party has decided to field candidates and contest elections on 40-45 seats in the Assembly elections as the state prepares for a triangular contest between the BJP, Congress and the JD (S). This move is being seen as an attemp by the NCP to regain the status of being the national party after losing political clout in states such as Manipur, Meghalaya and Goa.
Pawar said, as quoted by news agency PTI, “We are meeting in Mumbai tomorrow to finalise our plans for the Karnataka elections.” Earlier, the party also wrote to the Election Commission to allocate the ‘alarm clock’ symbol for the Karnataka Assembly elections.
The NCP is planning to field at least 45 candidates in the 224-member state assembly, reported PTI, citing NCP leaders. It is also considering to give support to Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti in the Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary region row. The area has a large chunk of the Maratha-speaking population.
Pawar Meets Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge
Pawar's announcement on plans for Karnataka elections has come a day after he met with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on Thursday. They met to discuss the need to forge opposition unity to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections next year.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar visited Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, party leaders Rahul Gandhi and KC Venugopal in Delhi, in what is considered as another move by Opposition leaders to unify them ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, news agency ANI reported.
Following the meeting, Rahul Gandhi stated that the process of uniting the opposition has begun and that all parties are dedicated to it.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief met with Congress leaders at Kharge's residence in Delhi, where they discussed opposition-unification measures.
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After meeting Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and other leaders, Sharad Pawar stated: "Our thinking is exactly what Kharge ji told you. But mere thinking will not help. A process needs to be started... This is just the beginning.
After this, talks will be held with other important opposition parties - be it Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, or others - to try to integrate them into this process..."
Addressing the media, Kharge said: "...To save the country & democracy and keep the Constitution safe, for freedom of speech and expression, for employment of youth and issues like inflation & misuse of autonomous bodies, we are ready to fight as one. We will talk to everyone one by one. Pawar Sahab too says the same."
"What Kharge ji and Pawar ji said, that a process has begun to unite the Opposition. This is the beginning. All parties are committed to this process," Rahul Gandhi said.