Maharashtra Elections: Sharad Pawar Rules Out CM Face Ahead Of Polls, Says 'Will Be Considered...'

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar declared the criteria for choosing the chief ministerial candidate, stressing that there was no need to make this decision before the Maharashtra assembly polls.

Maharashtra Assembly Polls: As the tussle over the chief ministerial candidate continues in Maharashtra ahead of the assembly polls, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar stated the criteria on the basis of which the CM face should be chosen. Declaring that there was no need for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to announce a candidate ahead of the assembly polls, he stressed that the coalition would contest under a collective leadership.

Announcing how the alliance would make the decision, Pawar stated that the chief minister will be chosen only after the polls, based on which party of the alliance wins the maximum number of seats.

"There is no hurdle anywhere by not announcing the CM's face. No need to think about it now. Who should lead should be decided according to the numbers. There is no need to make any arrangements before elections," Pawar said.

No Need To Demand CM Face Now: Pawar

Pawar's remarks come on the heels of Shiv Sena (UBT) pitching for former Maharashtra CM and party supremo Uddhav Thackeray as the chief ministerial face of the opposition alliance.

He also stated that he wanted the MVA to first complete the seat sharing process and get on with the poll campaign at the earliest. "MVA leaders should sit for talks beginning September 7 to 9," he said, adding that he expects the election process to conclude by November second week, PTI reported.

Citing the situation after the Emergency, when the Janata Party declared Morarji Desai as the Prime Minister after the Lok Sabha elections, the NCP supremo said: "After the Emergency, the name of Morarji Desai was announced. His name was not announced while asking for votes. So there is no need to demand CM face now. We will sit together, and after getting the support of the people, we will give a stable government," India Today reported.

As per the report, the Shiv Sena (UBT) was pushing for Thackeray to be announced the chief ministerial candidate. However, Congress had suggested making him the campaign chief of the alliance.

MVA Will Decide On The CM Later: Nana Patole

After Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole also stated clearly that the MVA will go to polls without a CM face. Rejecting Uddhav Thackeray's demand that the CM face be chosen before the polls, Patole joined Pawar's chorus and reiterated that the chief ministerial candidate will be decided later.

"Sharad Pawar's statement is appropriate. We will contest the elections as Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), and the MVA will be our strength. We will decide on the CM later. Earlier, Uddhav Ji had raised this issue during the MVA program, but it was clearly stated in front of the workers that the MVA will be our face," Patole said.

Thackeray Agrees To Support Any CM Candidate Endorsed By Alliance

Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) had expressed its concern over this idea of naming the CM face. During a visit to Delhi last month, Thackeray met key decision makers and senior leaders of Congress, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and KC Venugopal, among others. He had also nodded to a joint survey to decide seat distribution ad urged against following the formula wherein the CM face will be from the party that wins the most seats in the elections.

Thackeray had also expressed support for "any chief ministerial candidate" endorsed by the Congress and NCP (SP).

"I appeal to all leaders of the alliance, whether it's Prithviraj Chavan or Sharad Pawar, to announce their choice for the Chief Minister, and I will support them unconditionally," Thackeray had said.

Thackeray resigned as the Chief Minister of Mahrashtra following a rebellion in his party in 2022, which further led to the fall of the MVA-led government.

(With inputs from Namrata Dubey)