MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unlikely to remain in the post after the general elections, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar has said.
“With whatever little politics I understand, I don’t see the NDA getting clear mandate in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. That means the BJP will have to garner support even from outside of the NDA and in that situation Modi won’t be accepted as Prime Minister,” Pawar said while interacting with reporters here on Tuesday.
Stating that the mood of the nation has drastically changed from what it was in 2014 which was evident in the results of the three assembly election in the month of December, Pawar said that the same changed mood is likely to reflect in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
While reacting to BJP’s optimism of Saffron alliance winning 45 seats, Pawar sarcastically said that they appear to have forgotten that the state has 48 Lok Sabha seats, else they would have claimed all the 48 seats.
“BJP’s optimism is hollow. They feel that they would be able to win the election by importing candidates like they did last time. But, the ground reality is different. People are against them,” the leader who is nearing 80 said.
While reacting to Sujay Vikhe-Patil joining the BJP, Pawar said that the development won’t alter the prospects of NCP on the seat.
When asked why he didn’t let the seat go for Sujay while decided to back off to give a chance to grandson Parth, Pawar said, “I can give in to demands made by my family members. But, it would be wrong to expect the same thing from me for others.”
Pawar’s other grandson Rahul Pawar had taken to the social media today to urge him to retract him from the decision of not contesting the Lok Sabha polls.
“I know several of the party workers who have done so. They have done so out of their love for me. I do read such posts and laugh,” Pawar said while reacting to it. Pawar also denied any discord within the family over his decisions, first to contest the election and then to retract.