Sharad Pawar pitches for MVA allies to contest Maha Assembly and Lok Sabha polls together

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday pitched for contesting the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly and the Lok Sabha polls together with the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena and Congress. Talking to reporters, he claimed that despite a split in the Shiv Sena, majority of the “hardcore” Shiv Sainiks who work on the ground stand behind Uddhav Thackeray.

Pawar said MLAs and MPs may have aligned with the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena after the split, but when polls take place, they will also know what the views of people are. To a query on the issue of alliance, Pawar said, “The understanding is that the Congress, NCP and Uddhav Thackeray should work together (for the Lok Sabha and Maharashtra polls). The Republican Party and some groups should be included. But we are having discussions. We take decisions jointly on many issues, so there should not be any problem in this." The NCP chief had last year also said the MVA allies should fight the Maharashtra Assembly elections together. The Lok Sabha polls are due in May 2024 and the Maharashtra Assembly elections are due in October next year.