MUMBAI / CHANDIGARH / LUCKNOW: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said as many as 63 representatives from 28 political parties will participate in the two-day INDIA meeting, up from 26 parties last time. Pawar mentioned two parties, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which left the NDA in 2020, and the BSP, as candidates to join INDIA, but added that both have their compulsions.
As for SAD, its direct rivals in Punjab are the Congress and AAP. “No decision will be taken that will hurt the incumbent alliance partners,” Pawar said. Regarding BSP chief Mayawati, he said which side she is on is known. “She is already communicating with the BJP. Things will be much more clear closer to the Lok Sabha polls,” the Maratha strongman said.
For its part, the SAD said it cannot be part of any arrangement that includes the Congress and AAP. SAD leader Balwinder Singh Bhunder confirmed that the party was approached to join INDIA but said it will stay away. Sources said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had approached SAD and Indian National Lok Dal to join INDIA. Mayawati, too, was categorical that the BSP will go it alone in the polls. She reiterated her stand of equidistance with both the NDA and INDIA.