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Mumbai: Even as Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has expressed his reluctance to contest the Presidential polls, Opposition leaders continued to push the veteran politician to step into the arena with Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut stating on Tuesday that the NCP chief was the ideal candidate for President and a strong leader who could safeguard the Constitution.
Speaking to newspersons in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, the Shiv Sena chief spokesperson, whose party is in ruling alliance with the NCP in Maharashtra, further said that if the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre “needed a proper President and not a rubber stamp”, then there was no one as suitable other than Sharad Pawar.
Sanjay Raut remarked “If this country needs an ideal President and an excellent administrator, then the (Central) government ought to choose a proper candidate and not a rubber stamp…Sharad Pawar is the most prominent and experienced leader in the country today. He has remained unbeaten in elections in his political career for more than 50 years.”
The Sena chief spokesperson said that if all opposition parties, who were coming together for the Presidential election, and if top leaders within the ruling BJP thought that the country ought to get a first-rate president of the likes of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam or Pranab Mukherjee, then the only name that presented itself was that of Sharad Pawar.
Raut further remarked, “Even Prime Minister Modi will agree to this (of the suitability of Sharad Pawar being the ideal candidate).” The Sena leader is in Ayodhya ahead of Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray’s June 15 visit.
In the same breath, Raut also acknowledged that in his conversations with the NCP chief, Sharad Pawar was not inclined to contest and that the idea of him being the Presidential candidate of the joint Opposition could only move forward if the NCP chief gave his acceptance.
The Shiv Sena chief spokesperson further remarked, “I have expressed my view that he is the tallest leader in the country. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), too, has expressed this view and so has Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.” He urged the BJP to be broad-minded and give NCP chief Sharad Pawar the nomination.
