Elective merit to be taken into consideration while allocating tickets for LS polls: Ajit Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) senior leader Ajit Pawar elective merit will be taken into consideration while allocating tickets to candidates for the next Lok Sabha elections.

He also said the decision about the Shirur Lok Sabha seat, currently represented by Amol Kolhe of NCP, will be taken after discussion with senior leaders. In the 2019 polls, Kolhe defeated Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil of Shiv Sena (undivided) which contested in alliance with BJP. After severing ties with BJP after the last Assembly polls, Shiv Sena joined hands with NCP and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

Pawar was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the review meeting of NCP which also discussed preparations for a public rally scheduled to be held in Ahmednagar to mark the party's foundation day on June 9. While allocating tickets for Lok Sabha elections, the opportunity will be given to those candidates who have elective merit, said Pawar.

Queried on Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule reportedly terming NCP's OBC cell convention as nautanki (drama), Pawar said one cannot expect from NCP's opponents to speak well about the party.

Targeting the ruling BJP over the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota issue, Pawar said it was Maha Vikas Aghadi that had decided to approach the court. When the Supreme Court permitted OBC reservation in Madhya Pradesh, our team went there and held discussions to understand the strategy adopted by them. We then put forth our stand in the apex court and everyone knows about the decision, he said.

Why they (the state government in which BJP shares power with Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde) didn't hold elections? They are in power for one year now. Why are you pointing fingers over the issue? Pawar asked.