Date:13/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/13/stories/2007121362501600.htm

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NCP: Pawar qualified to become Prime Minister

Arunkumar Bhatt

MUMBAI: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said here Wednesday that its founder and president, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, had all leadership qualities to become the Prime Minister.

General secretary of the party Tariq Anwar, however, said the NCP was part of the United Progressive Alliance and a consensus in the alliance was needed to decide who should be the (next) Prime Minister.

He was launching the Mumbai edition of the party organ Rashtravadi Sankalp on the occasion of Mr. Pawar’s 67th birthday.

Party leader and Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil had declared that the party’s next programme was to ensure that Mr. Pawar became the Prime Minister. It would use its own strength and influence to win friends for the purpose. It would not even hesitate to take support of the Shiv Sena, if need be.

“No understanding”

Mr. Patil, however, clarified on Wednesday that the NCP had no such understanding with the Sena and did not intend to have any connection with that party with which it had no ideological compatibility.

“The strength of secular parties would grow so much that we would not need such support,” he said. Interestingly, however, there were statements from Sena leaders on the occasion of Mr. Pawar’s birthday.

As part of the celebrations, there were paid supplements on Mr. Pawar in newspapers.

Among those who paid rich tributes to Mr. Pawar were Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut.

“For the last 30-40 years, only two mass leaders have controlled Maharashtra politics — the first is Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray and the second is Mr. Pawar,” wrote Mr. Raut, who is also the Executive Editor of the Sena daily, Saamana,in a supplement.

He is very enthusiastic about Mr. Pawar becoming the Prime Minister and talks about personal bonds that the two leaders have with each other.

Lok Sabha member and former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu says in the same supplement: “Sharad Pawar is one of the few leaders who has a mass base and is occupying a centre stage in national politics today...the next general election may be a watershed in which regional parties will get largest number of seats in Parliament and in such a situation, Mr. Pawar, with his great networking skills, may be hoping to play a very interesting and important role.”