Pawar says he won’t align with BJP

NEW DELHI, MAY 26: Expelled Congress leader Sharad Pawar today sought to scotch rumours and set aside the possibility of a divide among m...

NEW DELHI, MAY 26: Expelled Congress leader Sharad Pawar today sought to scotch rumours and set aside the possibility of a divide among members of his nascent outfit over the issue of support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Pawar made it clear he did not favour an electoral alignment with the BJP. The rebels’ thrust now is to forge as many viable tie-ups with regional parties as possible and they have begun working — though at a slow pace — in this direction.

Pawar, P Sangma and Tariq Anwar, however, are yet to get their act together on issues that could halt their march. For instance, they were to have obtained a name for their party from the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) by this afternoon, but there seems to be a delay in the matter.

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Confirming this, Anwar hoped they would secure the party’s name by tomorrow. He chose not to elaborate on reasons for the delay, adding four or five names have already been submitted to the CEC.

After securing a name, the party will hunt for an appropriate symbol — this might take a few weeks considering the Election Commission’s procedural requirements.

The Delhi residence of another rebel Congressman, Datta Meghe, at 10 Bishambar Das Marg, has been chosen as the “party headquarters”.

Pawar today cleared the air of uncertainty over the BJP when he maintained that the new party would remain equidistant from both the Congress and the BJP.

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Pawar also sought to play down his talks with Lok Shakti leader Ramakrishna Hegde, saying, “Hegde is an old friend,” and said there was no plan to contact AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha, “till the process of formation of our party is complete.”

Pawar shares a rapport with many others. Observers say his friends — who would come in handy once the process of forging an alliance takes shape — include Mamata Banerjee, Mulayam Singh Yadav and even Chandrababu Naidu.

Right now, however, the rebels’ priority is the finalisation of their party’s constitution — being drafted by Sangma, and reportedly in the finishing stage — and the take off of their forum in Mumbai on June 10.