Delhi CM Kejriwal seeks Sharad Pawar’s help for pan-India outreach

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and NCP chief Sharad Pawar at YB Chavan Centre, on Thursday. Pic/Sameer Markande

Delhi Chief Minister CM Arvind Kejriwal has pinned his hopes on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) boss Sharad Pawar in Mumbai, to get support from the parties he hasn't been able to convince to stand with him, to oppose an ordinance that has usurped his government's powers to control the bureaucracy.

A day after seeking a helping hand from Shiv Sena splinter leader Uddhav Thackeray, Kejriwal sought Pawar's cooperation. "Pawar saheb is one of the tallest leaders the country has. He has promised us his party's support, and I have requested him to talk to all other parties to get them together to defeat the bill in the Rajya Sabha," said Kejriwal at a media conference that was also addressed by Pawar at YB Chavan Centre.

The Delhi CM said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government had a majority in the lower house (to pass the bill), but no party had a majority in the Rajya Sabha. "So this bill could fall if all of us get together. And if it falls, it will give an indication that the Modi sarkar will not return to power next year," he said. Thackeray's faction has three MPs in the Rajya Sabha and five in the Lok Sabha. Pawar's party has five members in Lok Sabha and four in the Rajya Sabha.

Next, Congress

Before the Delhi ordinance bill is brought to the Parliament in the next session for converting it into a law, the proposed boycott of the inaugural ceremony of the new Sansad Bhavan has the national and regional parties divided. However, some of the opposition bloc have not yet wholeheartedly extended their support to Kejriwal. The single largest opposition party, the Congress is prominent among them. Some Congress leaders had recalled the Aam Aadmi Party's stand of supporting the abrogation of article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir while most of the opposition parties had opposed it. In the electoral field, the Congress had lost its space to AAP in Delhi, Punjab and to some extent in Gujarat. The Congress and many other parties had branded AAP as the BJP's Team B.

When asked about the reservations in the Congress camp, Kejriwal said upon his arrival in Delhi, he would ask for the appointment of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former president Rahul Gandhi, to seek their party's support. Pawar said it wasn't the time to argue policies. He said Kejriwal should get support from non-BJP parties, including the Congress and the Biju Janata Dal . "It is time we saved democracy," he added, further stating that he would share the responsibility of pan-India outreach to aid Kejriwal's goal.

"I have been a member of the state legislature or the Parliament for an uninterrupted period of 56 years. These years have given me an advantage. I have developed personal relations with the leaders, MPs and MLAs in any part of the country. I have worked with them at some point of time. Now the question is not just about Delhi, but about saving the rights of elected governments," Pawar said.

‘They will fail again'

Reacting to Kejriwal's two-day Mumbai tour, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said the opposition parties had attempted a similar thing in 2019, but failed miserably. "They come here, criticise Modi ji. It will be Modi ji all the way in the future as well," he said. Fadnavis said the unity attempt was tried in some states as well, but didn't succeed. "It will not succeed in the coming days. Kejriwal goes to Uddhavji's home. He will reciprocate. But they are scared of the public support we have been getting. Their attempt will have no impact in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, the (Maharashtra) Assembly and Mumbai," said the deputy CM.

56
Years Sharad Pawar has been in politics