Not in the race to become Maharashtra CM: NCP's Supriya Sule

Mumbai: NCP leader and MP Supriya Sule today said she was not in the race for the post of Maharashtra Chief Minister. “I am not contesting the assembly elections and am not in the race for the Chief Minister’s post,” Sule said in an interaction at an event organised by a channel. She downplayed a question about why a progressive state like Maharashtra hasn’t had a woman chief minister so far. “That has nothing to do with working for women-related issues and their uplift. Domestic violence and dowry deaths will not stop if a woman becomes CM,” she said. [caption id=“attachment_495909” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Supriya Sule in this file photo. AFP image[/caption] To a question about Rahul Gandhi, Sule said the Congress vice president was a simple, well-spoken and good-natured person. “He must have done well in his constituency, that’s why he was elected with a margin of two lakh votes,” she said. But asked about Rahul’s leadership qualities, she said it was Congress’ internal matter. “Even I have lot of drawbacks, who am I to comment on others’ flaws? Everyone has his or her own style and personality,” she said. “It’s not NCP’s but Congress’ job to think about Rahul Gandhi’s political credibility. NCP has just an alliance relationship with the Congress,” she added. On Narendra Modi, Sule said, “Narendra Modi is very good man, he is our Prime-Minister and we respect him. The country has given him a good mandate so he should be given a little time.” When asked if this statement indicated that NCP had left the door open to a tie-up with BJP in future, she shot back, “You asked me about Modi as an individual. Political stand should not be confused (with views about a person).” About seat-sharing talks with Congress, she said NCP had demanded equal number of seats. “Let’s see what happens,” she said. Talking about her party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha polls, Sule said, “We are not haunted by the ghost of Lok Sabha results. We take exams to succeed, however the Lok Sabha results were a good warning.” Sule, who represents Baramati in the Lok Sabha, also claimed that recently-announced reservations for Marathas and Muslims in Maharashtra was not a votebank politics. “I am a Maratha but my children will not benefit by reservation because there is a creamy-layer (barring) provision.” Asked between her and her cousin and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar who would inherit her father Sharad Pawar’s political legacy, Sule said, “It could be me, my brother or somebody else. Only time will tell. Inheritance of legacy happens not just through blood relation but the work done by the person. My father carried forward the legacy of the state’s first Chief Minister, Yashwantrao Chavan, though he was not related to Chavan.” PTI