The chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Sharad Pawar called for opposition unity in the country ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Election. Pawar today said the parties can look at joining hands and form a Common Minimum Programme.
Advocating Opposition unity, Pawar was reported as saying: “Can consider contesting elections together under the Common Minimum Programme.”
It may be recalled that the last non-BJP government in power at the Centre was from 2004-2014 for two terms in the form of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance. Manmohan Singh was the PM of the UPA-1 and UPA-2 governments which also functioned on the basis of common minimum programmes.
Earlier this week on Monday, the NCP chief had stated that efforts were being made at the national level to bring like-minded parties opposed to the BJP ideology together. Pawar had however insisted that he would not like to assume any significant role due to his age.
“I will only help bring together non-BJP parties to generate a public opinion against the BJP,” he said.
He also hit out at the BJP which has been in power as part of the NDA since 2014, with PM Narendra Modi at the helm.
“Narendra Modi government is failing to fulfil any of the promises made by it since 2014.
“What BJP is doing against its opponents is nothing but an attack on parliamentary democracy which is a matter of serious concern. In all the non-BJP-ruled states, the saffron party is trying to split legislators and capture power. Maharashtra is the latest example,” Pawar was quoted as saying.
