'If Lok Sabha work is repeated...': Sharad Pawar is confident of NCP's return to power in Maharashtra

After the Lok Sabha election success, NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar is confident that his party will return to power in Maharashtra after the state assembly elections due later this year. During an interaction with farmers in Baramati, a Pawar family stronghold, he said his party would resolve the farmers' issues in the state once it comes at the helm again. 

"Both the governments (at the Centre and state) are not ruled by us. But (state) elections are round the corner. We have seen how work was done in the Lok Sabha polls. If such work is repeated in the state assembly elections, I cannot see how the reins of state government will not come into our hands," Pawar said. "All the issues of farmers can be resolved if the power of the state government comes into our hands." 

Pawar, whose party won an impressive 8 of 10 Lok Sabha seats it contested, expressed concern over the water pollution of Nira river in Pune district. He blamed the sugar factories, saying they played a big role in polluting the river water. He also said that he will hold talks with the state and central governments to address the issue. 

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the MVA - Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena - bagged 30 of 48 seats. The Congress emerged as the largest party with 13 seats from 1 in 2019. Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena won nine and the NCP (SP) eight. Uddhav's Sena had contested 21 seats, followed by Congress at 17 and NCP (SP) at 10.

The NDA, which had swept the parliamentary polls by bagging 40-plus seats in 2019, could win just 17 seats. The BJP's tally came down to 9 from 23 in 2019. 

The MVA is confident that it will come back to power after assembly elections slated to be held in October-November. 

Earlier this week, NCP-SCP leader Rohit Pawar claimed that 18-19 MLAs from Ajit Pawar's party were in touch with Sharad Pawar's group. "We have been saying this since the start, that 18-19 (NCP MLAs) are in touch with us...We will decide once the monsoon session concludes," he said while speaking to news agency ANI. 

NCP's Maharashtra unit president Sunil Tatkare rejected the claim, saying no NCP MLA will leave Ajit Pawar. He also said the party will face state assembly polls as part of the Mahayuti. He, however, admitted that the upcoming state assembly polls will be a political challenge and said frontal organisations of the party have been given a specific task to strengthen the NCP.