Opposition Unity Meeting in Patna: Longtime Sharad Pawar supporter Praful Patel gave a scathing critique of the opposition unity meeting last month in Patna while defending his decision to join Ajit Pawar in the BJP-led alliance. Praful Patel, who frequently accompanied Sharad Pawar as they spoke on behalf of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in meetings, admitted that he “felt like laughing” when he observed what was going on at the gathering of the 17 opposition groups.
Presence of Parties with Minimal Representation
“I went to the joint opposition meeting in Patna with Sharad Pawar and I felt like laughing when I saw the scene there. There were 17 opposition parties there, seven of them have only 1 MP in the Lok Sabha and one party has zero MPs. These parties claim they will bring change,” Praful Patel said, Around the same time as Sharad Pawar addressed Ajit Pawar‘s conference in Mumbai, another event was conducted in a different area of the city. “The decision to join the NDA (the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance) was taken to protect the interests of our nation and party and not for personal benefits,” Patel said.
Ajit Pawar’s Coup, Joining the BJP-led Maharashtra Government
Ajit Pawar, who on Sunday launched a coup against his uncle and party leader Sharad Pawar and joined the BJP-led Maharashtra government, was joined on stage by at least 28 of the 53 NCP MLAs. Sharad Pawar had a meeting with 17 MLAs, and it appears that his nephew has defeated the veteran for the time being. Sharad Pawar, whom Praful Patel considered as his mentor and advisor, is said to have been greatly shocked by his switch. Patel questioned Sharad Pawar’s alleged opposition to joining the BJP. “When we could accept the ideology of the Shiv Sena, then what is the objection against going with the BJP? We have joined this alliance as an independent entity. Mehbooba Mufti and Farooq Abdullah went with the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir and they are now part of the joint opposition,” said the former Union Minister. Similar concerns about the opposition were made by Patel in an interview with NDTV, where he claimed that it needed a “central party” that could win 150 seats.
Winning 150 Seats in the Next Election
“Unless you have a big party – do you find any party that will win 150 seats next time? Of course, nothing is impossible in politics but I’m just saying by a reasonable yardstick you measure, no party is going to have 150 seats. And if you don’t have 150 seats, a central party, then you can’t form a coalition around that number,” Patel told NDTV. “The issue of acceptability is the next. Who will take charge? He added that he didn’t think these groups could compete with the BJP in 2024 since “so many parties will not accept another party’s leader.”
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