It'll be NCP v/s Congress outside Maharashtra in Lok Sabha polls: Sharad Pawar

The NCP plans to contest Lok Sabha polls from other states against the Congress, its alliance partner in Maharashtra. Speaking to the media on Sunday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar also took potshots at PM Manmohan Singh on his recent statement that it would be “disastrous” for the country if BJP’s prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi was elected to the country’s top post.

“(While speaking about) my associates or opponents, I use my words carefully,” said Pawar, without naming Manmohan Singh, when asked about his remarks against Modi.

Pawar was also non-committal when asked about the likely nomination of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi as Congress PM nominee.

Pawar said assembly election results in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were not unexpected considering the strides in agricultural production by those states. He added that after the results of the five state assemblies, the local body polls in Maharashtra had seen the Congress and NCP getting a thumping mandate, including in Nandurbar district, which borders Modi’s Gujarat.

Pawar stressed that seat- sharing talks with the Congress will begin soon as indications were that the Lok Sabha polls could be held between April 16 and May 13. He said the Congress and NCP were likely to exchange Lok Sabha seats in some districts.