Asked about INDIA face, Pawar reminds of 1977 polls

Amid suspense over Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)'s prime ministerial face for the 2024 general elections, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said the 1977 Lok Sabha polls were fought by the opposition without projecting Morarji Desai as the PM candidate.

Addressing a press conference in Amravati, he also expressed confidence that the INDIA will emerge as a viable alternative for the next general elections.

"The 1977 Lok Sabha polls were fought by the opposition without projecting a prime ministerial face. Morarji Desai was chosen for the post after the opposition won the election," he said.

"Despite the poor results in the recent assembly elections in the states, we are confident that people will accept the INDIA bloc as a viable alternative. We are taking all the precautions. There have been no seat-sharing talks as yet, but a dialogue has started to bring unanimity and sort out differences," he said.

Morarji Desai was the first non-Congress prime minister.

He was the PM between 1977 and 1979, leading the government formed by the Janata Party.

On the Congress's foundation day rally in Nagpur on Thursday, Pawar expressed hope that whatever is spoken during the event would be aimed at creating a favourable base for the opposition alliance.

Replying to a query about whether Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party would be included in the opposition bloc, he said the Samajwadi Party was already part of the alliance and no decision would be taken which would hurt the Akhilesh Yadav-led party.

When asked about Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), he said that during the last INDIA bloc meeting, he had asked Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge to speak to Ambedkar and try to stitch up an alliance.

"I don't know what happened later," he said.

Pawar accused the central government of using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as instruments of convenience to target political opponents.

"We are sure that there will be a change in government after the Lok Sabha elections and then we will see how this misuse can be stopped," he said.

The former Union minister said the MPs suspended from Parliament were asking questions on how intruders can come inside the Lok Sabha when proceedings were on.

"What were their demands, who brought them in and if their demands are valid, they should be taken note of," he said.