Pawar takes a dig at UP ministers quitting BJP

Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Thursday said Bharatiya Janata Party leaders confidently predicted till 15 days ago that their party will come back to power in Uttar Pradesh, but now not a single day passes without the news of some or the other leader quitting the saffron outfit.

His remarks come amid BJP ministers and legislators quitting the party in UP ahead of the crucial Assembly polls in the state.

Notably, 10 BJP MLAs, including three ministers, have resigned over the past three days.

"If you look at the picture in Uttar Pradesh, BJP leaders were saying 15 days ago, there is no reason to look at anyone in Uttar Pradesh (that the party will come back to power)," Pawar said at an NCP event.

"Those in the cabinet are also leaving the BJP. This is happening in Uttar Pradesh and (at the level of) districts in the state," Pawar said.

The NCP supremo, who has extended support to the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party in UP, said be it Goa or wherever the polls are to be held, one can see the same picture.

"The process has begun," he said, alluding to a possible setback that the BJP might face in the Assembly polls.

Pawar also claimed that the BJP has a different ideology with not having in its mind the interest of the common man.

There are ups and downs in politics. These fluctuations sometimes take a person to a higher ground, he said.

"But, once the common man decides, then no matter how powerful a person is at the top, he cannot stand up in front of the united force of the common people," the former Union minister said.

Earlier this week, Pawar had said 13 members of the Legislative Assembly in Uttar Pradesh will be joining the Samajwadi Party.

Notably, prominent OBC leaders in UP like Dara Singh Chauhan, Swami Prasad Maurya and Dharam Singh Saini have quit the BJP in the last three days.

Earlier this week, Goa minister Michael Lobo and state BJP MLA Pravin Zantye also quit the party.

Last month, Alina Saldanha, the sitting BJP MLA from Cortalim in Goa, joined the Aam Aadmi Party.

The UP Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in seven phases over the next two months, and the polls in Goa will be held on February 14.