Pawar, Mayawati leaving open field for NDA: Sena

Mumbai: NCP chief Sharad Pawar and BSP president Mayawati’s opting out of the Lok Sabha (LS) polls is a clear indication of certain victory for the NDA, the Shiv Sena said Friday.

The Sena in an editorial in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ claimed that Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would spoil the game for the SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh, reasoning that the vote bank of the Congress and Mayawati was similar.

An ally partner of the NDA said that as Pawar and Mayawati were not contesting elections, it was a sign that the road was clear for Narendra Modi to return victorious as Prime Minister. The Sena said that along with Pawar, Mayawati, too, had decided not to contest the LS polls, the importance of which was that they were out of the prime ministerial race.

Quoting Mayawati, the editorial said that she wanted to campaign for her party’s candidates across the country, hence she chose not to contest herself. However, the editorial reasoned that the BSP had presence only in Uttar Pradesh and therefore, the decision to opt out meant she was running away from the fight. Mr Pawar had sought a similar escape route from the Madha LS constituency, the editorial claimed.

The Sena said that the NCP chief was trying to unite the entire Opposition but couldn't bring his own family and party members on the same page and therefore, had to opt out.