Stating that there had been few Presidents in the recent past who had been able to function independently of the ruling party, the Shiv Sena on Friday said that had Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar assented to be the joint Opposition’s candidate, the scales would have been tilted in his favour and he would have made one such President with independent views.
Sena MP Sanjay Raut further said that while his party would not take the initiative in fielding a presidential candidate, both opposition leaders like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as well as senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were reportedly in talks with Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on this issue.
“Sharad Pawar is such a tall leader, the veritable Bheeshma (after a protagonist in the epic Mahabharata) of the opposition politics today. Had he consented to be the opposition’s candidate, the election would have been interesting as well as prestigious and the scales would perhaps have tilted in Mr. Pawar’s favour as he would have received votes from a number of non-BJP states,” said Mr. Raut.
