Sharad Pawar on what ails UPA: Weak rulers, pseudo activists, free advice

Key UPA ally at the Centre, Union Minister, partner in a Congress-led state government in Maharashtra and a long-time aspirant to the prime ministerial post who continues to be wooed by Third Front constituents, Sharad Pawar upped the ante against the Congress party on Monday by calling for “serious thinking from not only the Congress but the rest of us too”. In a strongly written blog post the morning after results from four states’ Assembly elections showed a near-complete decimation of the Congress, the Maratha strongman said about people, “They do not want weak rulers, but they want those who will formulate policies & programs for poor and implement them with firmness.” [caption id=“attachment_1276631” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  NCP Chief Sharad Pawar[/caption] Pawar also appeared to take on the National Advisory Council, asking for the “bunch of pseudo activist’ people and their “unrealistic ideas” to be discarded. Citing Indira Gandhi’s decisive and bold leadership, her move to end privy purses, to nationalise banks, etc, Pawar said the class of people “always willing to give free advice” was absent in Indira’s time. Pawar also tears apart the Congress campaign in Delhi, which he says is a pampered state, getting a larger-than-its-due share of investments and attention from the Central leadership. While the upper middle class that often abstains from voting has cast its vote this time, the lower classes – traditional Congress voters – have also given the AAP a chance, Pawar points out. The new voter has played a significant role in vanquishing the Congress, he says. “The youth has clearly shown its anger in these elections and we need to find why they are angry. We also need to think about the class of people who are trying to influence and change public opinion through their impractical ideas. If a leader can be confident and decisive about his people oriented policies, then he will not have to contend with such new power centers. But, for sure, people want result-oriented leaders.” In the past, Pawar has questioned Rahul’s leadership, stating that the Congress vice-president has yet to  prove his mettle and that the question of Rahul’s leadership can be decided after the elections. “Let him prove himself before I work under him,” Pawar had said. Read the full blog post here.