MUMBAI: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said there is no need for the Maha Vikas Aghadi to declare a chief ministerial face ahead of the state assembly elections, suggesting that the decision on who will be the chief minister can be made after the poll results.
The statement comes amid the insistence by Shiv Sena (UBT) to declare Uddhav Thackeray as MVA’s chief ministerial face.
“There is no need to discuss the face of the chief minister now. Let the elections take place, then we can discuss it. The numbers are important to make the chief minister post,” Pawar told reporters. giving the example of 1977 Lok Sabha elections in which the Opposition had no prime ministerial face, but after the results, Morarji Desai was chosen the PM.
The chief ministerial candidate will be decided on the basis of which party wins the most number of seats in the alliance, he said. “Our aim is to give a stable government,” the former union minister said. Pawar said he will want the MVA to complete the seat sharing process and start the poll campaign at the earliest.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said, “In alliance governments, the support of MLAs is most important for choosing the chief minister. After the elections, all partners of the MVA will sit together and the party that won the highest number of seats will get this post.” Meanwhile, NCP Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule said, “I have no issue with Thackeray as CM of MVA; the only condition is that he should not surrender before Delhi and should protect state’s interest. He can easily fit the criteria.”