Mumbai, Aug 22 Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar on Friday said that he has conveyed to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that his party will not vote for Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan in the Vice-Presidential elections.
"We will not vote because we are ideologically against. It is not possible to accept the request," said Pawar in a press conference.
CM Fadnavis had called Pawar, requesting his support for the NDA candidate, but Pawar declined.
The CM had also called the Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray, seeking his party’s support for C.P. Radhakrishnan during the Vice Presidential Election.
" I remember when he (Radhakrishnan) was the governor of Jharkhand, then CM Hemant Soren was arrested inside the Raj Bhavan when he had gone to meet the governor, despite Soren's repeated requests not to do it in Raj Bhavan. The person who uses power in such a manner cannot be supported." Pawar said.
Further, he said that the INDIA bloc has fielded its candidate, former Supreme Court judge B. Sudarshan Reddy, who has filed his nomination papers.
CM Fadnavis had earlier told the reporters that he had called up both Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray seeking the support of their parties, citing that NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan is the Maharashtra governor.
Radhakrishnan was selected as the NDA's Vice Presidential candidate on Sunday. The announcement was made by BJP President J.P. Nadda during a press conference following the party's Parliamentary Board meeting held in the national capital.
Radhakrishnan has previously served as a Member of Parliament and as Governor of Jharkhand and Telangana. A veteran BJP leader, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore twice and previously served as the Tamil Nadu BJP State President.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised his "dedication, humility, and intellect", noting his long-standing grassroots work in Tamil Nadu. On Tuesday, Radhakrishnan was felicitated during the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting.
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