No alternative to PM Modi in 2024, says Maharashtra Dy CM Ajit Pawar

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday said that as of now there is "no alternative" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the country.

Pawar was replying to a query by reporters on the opposition parties planning to challenge Modi's leadership ahead of the Lok Sabha polls due next year.

"As of now, there is no alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the country. Such a decision is taken based on various aspects and not just one or two things," Pawar said.

"You people do a lot of propaganda," he told the mediapersons.

But questions like who will protect the country's interests, in whose hands the country will be safer and stronger, and who raised the country's image at the international stage, these factors matter a lot, Pawar said.

"We have also seen results (of recent assembly polls) in three states - Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. A guess work before the elections does not mean results will be the same," he said.

The BJP won the polls in these three states.

Asked about opposition parties taking out rallies in Pune district against the state government, Pawar said a Lok Sabha MP from the NCP had expressed his willingness to step down as member of the Lower House of Parliament.

"When we gave him a ticket in 2019, he was popular because he played the role of Sambhaji Maharaj (in a TV serial) and was a good orator," he said apparently referring to Amol Kolhe, the Lok Sabha member from Shirur constituency in Pune who supports the NCP camp led by Sharad Pawar.

"I have decided on an alternative to him (in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls), and I can tell you now that my candidate will win the seat for sure," said Ajit Pawar, who along with eight other NCP leaders joined the Eknath Shinde-led state government in July this year.