Sharad Pawar: Uddhav Thackeray is the right man

The Maha Vikas Aghadi chooses Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to lead the alliance in government, after Supreme Court lifeline

The state is all set to get a second chief minister within a week, and this time it looks more than likely that it will, after all, be the Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. On Tuesday, the Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, came together and proposed Uddhav as their common leader, which was unanimously supported by all members of the three parties present at the meeting.

First, chiefs and senior leaders of the three parties met at Sofitel Hotel, where Sharad Pawar proposed Uddhav for CM. In the evening, MLAs of all three parties met at BKC Trident to unanimously formalise it. "We wanted someone who will do justice to all the regions of Maharashtra and establish its prime position. When we sat down, we concluded that Uddhav was the right man for the job," said Pawar.

Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut arrive for the joint meeting of NCP, Shiv Sena and Congress MLAs to elect the leader of the alliance

He will take oath as chief minister on November 28 at Shivaji Park, a place close to heart of Sena founder the late Bal Thackeray. The ground, where father and son have addressed Sainiks every Dussehra, is virtually a holy spot for the party faithful. Bal Thackeray was also cremated here. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court's ruling, which came as good news for the tri-party alliance, was soon followed by the resignations of Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis as, respectively, deputy CM and CM. Till late on Tuesday evening, Ajit Pawar's followers waited for him to show up at the meeting of the MVA, but he did not show up. Fadnavis had some bitter words for Uddhav before resigning, and the latter responded in kind.

"I say it with regret that our ally who was together with us for 30 years did not believe in us but those against whom we fought for years, believed in my leadership," he said. He added the BJP was only spreading lies and it is only now that the Sena knows how much toxicity they had against us. He said while he will not follow the politics of revenge, anyone who tried to create hurdles for the smooth running of his government will not be spared. He said, "Three parties with different ideologies have come together to give a new direction to this nation."

Workers from all parties cheer at Trident, BKC

Celebrations erupt
Earlier, Sharad Pawar and senior MVA leaders were welcomed with slogans of 'Kon aala re Kon aala, Modi Shah cha Baap Aala'. Sena followers were seen celebrating and congratulating each other as the party finally after a month achieved what it aimed for and managed to have their party chief as
the CM.

Under the common minimum programme, the alliance will form a coordination committee of all three party members to solve the issues related to farmers, small-scale businesses, and women empowerment, among others. In the meeting, the preamble of MVA mentioned that apart from following all that is written in the Constitution of India, the MVA will work for the betterment of Maharashtra and try to reverse the economic slowdown and boost employment.

Sharad Pawar with daughter Supriya Sule in a discussion ahead of the big meeting at Trident, BKC, on Tuesday

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