MVA will contest assembly, Lok Sabha elections together: Ajit Pawar

NCP leader and LoP in Maharashtra assembly Ajit Pawar on Monday said that Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will contest the Maharashtra assembly and Lok Sabha polls together to defeat the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance.

The MVA coalition comprises the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), along with the Congress and the NCP.

Ajit Pawar, speaking to reporters in Pune, said, "Our top leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have made up their mind to contest the upcoming Loksabha and Assembly election together and following our seniors we (the other leaders party workers etc) are backing it."

He stated that the leaders of MVA would collectively determine the candidate to participate in the election based on merit, without considering their individual party interests.

"In any condition, MVA leaders shall sit together and decide the candidate on elective merit without thinking of their own party. We shall discuss and decide on how to increase the MLA and MP of MVA then it will be the right thing, every party is working for it," Pawar said.

In elucidating the importance of the MVA alliance, Pawar emphasised that it is undeniable that the constituent parties within MVA cannot independently contest and secure victory in elections. Therefore, in order to defeat the existing alliance of Shivsena led by Eknath Shinde and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), it is imperative for us to unite and participate in the election as a cohesive force, setting aside any internal differences.

"It's a matter of fact that parties in MVA can not contest elections of Lok sabha and Assembly on thier own. We all should accept the fact that victory is not possible by contesting alone, therefore if we want to defeat the current Shivsena of Eknath Shinde and BJP alliance then we have to be together and contest together without any difference then we would definitely win the elections," he said.

Both the Maharashtra Assembly election and the nationwide General election are slated to take place in 2024.