Patna: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar refused to become a candidate for the presidential election despite the fact that all opposition parties favour his candidature for the top post, but Pawar could agree to a presidential run if NDA supports him, leading to his emergence as a consensus candidate.
A consensus emerged among all opposition parties on the candidature of Sharad Pawar for the coveted post during their meeting held on Wednesday in New Delhi.
Briefing about the meeting, NCP Bihar unit vice president and spokesman Navin Kumar Singh said here on Thursday that Sharad Pawar was not in favour of any election for the post of President.
Referring to the opposition’s strength, he claimed that the opposition candidate had the required numbers to win the presidential election but Sharad Pawar was ideologically against any election for the post and preferred for unanimous election to maintain the dignity of the top post.
Singh said that now the ball is in the court of the National Democratic Alliance whether it takes a unanimous decision for the presidential election.
The decision of the NDA for unanimous support to Pawar as a presidential candidate would enhance the dignity of the country as well, he felt.
The NCP leader said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sharad Pawar have great relations and the Prime Minister, along with others, appreciates Pawar’s style of functioning.
Singh said that the country would get benefits from the 52-year-long stint of the social and political life of Sharad Pawar.
Above all, if the NDA to takes a unanimous decision regarding Pawar then Narendra Modi as Prime Minister and Sharad Pawar as President, would set an example in the country and also across the globe, with their excellent performance.
