Sharad Pawar says he's with UPA, but respects court verdict on Modi

Keeping the guessing game going on the role of the Nationalist Congress Party after the Lok Sabha elections, NCP chief Sharad Pawar appeared to be assuaging the UPA’s fears in an interview to NDTV_._ He is very much with the UPA, he reiterated, adding that even though there have been differences of opinion with the Congress party on issues, by and large the NCP believes it is an integral part of the UPA. [caption id=“attachment_1417365” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Reuters[/caption] Pawar had earlier given mixed signals about a rumoured coming together of the NCP with the NDA, suggesting in a previous interview that the issue of Narendra Modi’s role in the 2002 riots in Gujarat has been overplayed by his opponents. Soon after, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray lashed out at the NCP supremo, stating that the senior Maratha strongman had been keen to enter the NDA but the Sena’s opposition had cut those ambitions short. Pawar himself would do a quick turnaround on Modi a few days later. Now, Pawar has clarified that he continues to believe that if the courts have exonerated Modi then one has to respect the judiciary’s decision. “We have to accept it so why raise the issue,” the 73-year-old veteran politician told NDTV. According to PTI, he added, however, that if he is a chief minister and something happens in his state such a communal violence, then he has to take the responsibility. “I cannot say no. I may not be directly involved…” he is reported to have said. Pawar also said development in Gujarat and Maharashtra was the result of work by several chief ministers, so CMs of developed states can hardly be considered miracle workers. The NCP is said to be struggling in its stronghold of Maharashtra this election, according to prepoll surveys. While the union minister is himself opting for the Rajya Sabha route to Parliament, the NCP is on the one hand struggling with the absence of a clear line of succession in the party and on the other hand,  a growing challenge to the NCP’s domination of the Western Maharashtra belt with smaller parties such as the Swabhimaani Sanghatana growing.