'Won't Sit Quietly...': Ahead Of Maharashtra Polls, Sharad Pawar's Warning To Mahayuti Govt

MUMBAI: NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the opposition won't sit quietly till the Mahayuti dispensation in Maharashtra is dislodged from power in the next two months and a new government is formed on the ideals of Chhatrapati Shivaji. Addressing party workers at Ghatkopar in Mumbai, Pawar slammed the state government over the collapse of the statue of the legendary warrior king in Sindhudurg district on August 26.

He said those in power in the state have no "faith" in Shivaji Maharaj. “I assure you (party workers) that if you show your unity, then we will not sit quietly till the government in Maharashtra is changed in the next two months and a new government is formed on the ideals of Shivaji Maharaj that will safeguard the interests of people,” Pawar said.

The collapse of the Shivaji statue at Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil has triggered a firestorm in the state, with the opposition targeting the BJP-led Mahayuti for "corruption" and "insult" to the icon.

Earlier in the day, Pawar joined a protest march by the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) from Hutatma Chowk to the Gateway of India in south Mumbai over the statue collapse.

Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly will likely be held in October or November.