Sharad Pawar Seeks to Jokingly Downplay Jayant Patil’s Comment on Desire to Become Maharashtra CM

NCP president Sharad Pawar on Friday sought to downplay party leader Jayant Patils “I desire to be chief minister” of Maharashtra comment. Patil, a cabinet minister in the Shiv Sena-led MVA government and state NCP president, recently said anyone who has spent a long time in politics must be wanting to become chief minister and added it is natural for him, too, to aspire for the top post.

Asked about Patil expressing the desire for the CM post, Pawar told reporters in Kolhapur jokingly, what should I do if I, too, feel so tomorrow? Nobody is going to appoint me as chief minister, so I dont think about it. During his recent interaction with a local media house from Sangli, his home district, Patil was asked whether he wishes to become chief minister.

In his reply, Patil had said, “I must be wishing to (be CM), right? Each politician wants to be a CM. But the decision which the party and Pawar saheb take is final for us. “All want to be CM. Everyone who has worked (in politics) as long as I have (must be wanting to be CM). My voters, too, must be wanting me to be a CM.” “So, I desire to be chief minister, but the situation and the number (of MLAs) are factors. We have 54 MLAs (in a house of 288). I dont think it is possible to become CM with 54 MLAs,” he had added.

Patil said the NCP will have to grow further and have a greater number of MLAs for it to get the chief ministers post. “If the number grows, the party becomes larger, then what Pawar saheb decides will happen,” he said.

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