Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar should work towards formation of a non-Congress and non-BJP government with him as prime minister, party leader Purno A Sangma said today.
The NCP's North East and Jammu and Kashmir units have sent a memorandum to Pawar stating that he should work towards the formation of a non-Congress and non-BJP government with him as the prime minister, Sangma said.
"Already there is a lot of support for Pawar from Jayalalitha of AIDMK, Navin Patnaik of BJD, Chiranjeevi of Praja Rajam in Andhra Pradesh and Manohar Joshi of Shiv Sena," the former Lok Sabha speaker said.
"Congress should gracefully support the candidature of Pawar as the next prime minister. It will be good for the country," he said.
The Congress could not be trusted as it had betrayed the NCP in forming government in Meghalaya, a note by the NCP's NE units said.
Asked if there was a chance of Pawar going with the Congress contrary to what he was saying, Sangma said, "I do not know what he has told Sonia Gandhi, I don't go by media reports. I know what Pawar told me. He said 'we keep our options open'. On the 17th May we will meet at his residence at 6 o'clock."
"We are speaking in one voice. There is no difference in the NCP. We are working wholeheartedly to make Sharad Pawar the prime minister. That is why we are asking Congress to support him," the former L S speaker said.
"The situation demands we have a consensus prime minister."
Asked if the NCP would ask for BJP support, Sangma said, "why not? If BJP voluntarily comes out and says it will support Sharad Pawar as prime minister, of course we will take their support. BJP is not untouchable to me. How can you say it is an untouchable party when it ruled India for six years. Were the people who voted them to power communal?" he asked.
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