'Congress Alone Gave An Alternative To BJP': Sharad Pawar On Karnataka Election Results

New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday reacted to the Karnataka Assembly election results and said that Congress has alone given an alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Speaking to reporters after meeting Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja, Pawar indicated that the Karnataka template needs to be implemented in other states, and for that, like-minded parties will have to work on a common minimum programme (CMP).

"The Karnataka assembly elections have given a message. We need to work on creating a situation like Karnataka in other states. The Congress alone gave an alternative to the BJP in Karnataka, but in other states, like-minded parties will have to work on a common minimum programme (CMP)," Sharad Pawar said.

We will work on both fronts (of creating a strategy like Karnataka and the CMP) and we are starting this process, he added.

In the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, the Congress won 135 seats and ousted the BJP, which secured 66 seats, from the only state it governed in southern India. Congress' emphatic victory in Karnataka came amid Opposition parties exploring a united front against the saffron party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. 

Karnataka election result 'a boost' for MVA: Maharashtra NCP chief

The BJP's crushing defeat in Karnataka is a boost for Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra which will take small parties along and put up a united challenge to the ruling party in the 2024 elections, state NCP chief Jayant Patil said on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters after attending the MVA meeting at NCP chief Sharad Pawar's residence in Mumbai, Patil said the MVA -- comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP, and Congress -- will work out a seat-sharing formula ahead of the Lok Sabha and the Maharashtra assembly elections. MVA leaders, including Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena (UBT) and state Congress chief Nana Patole, attended the meeting.

"Like Karnataka, I am sure the MVA will win the people's trust in Maharashtra and will work with more strength," Patil said.

He said MVA leaders have decided to hold talks with other small parties and are hopeful of presenting a united opposition to the current dispensation in the country in 2024.

"The three constituents of MVA will meet and work out a seat-sharing formula ahead of the Lok Sabha and the Maharashtra assembly elections. We are starting steadily and slowly,? Patil added.