After putting up a convincing show in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said his party will next focus on creating a "good pool of leaders", adding the party had no plans to support Shiv Sena.
The NCP, battered by defections during the run-up to the polls, won 54 seats, 10 more than ally Congress and just two short of Shiv Sena. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 102 seats, 20 short of its 2014 tally.
When asked about the possibility of the NCP supporting Sena to form a government and thus keeping the BJP away from power, Pawar told a news channel, "We want to create a
good pool of leaders. I am more concerned about agriculture, industries and unemployment.
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"We want to focus on public concerns. So we have no interest in other things," he said.
The former Union minister said he expected the NCP's victory in the Parli assembly constituency, where it defeated BJP minister Pankaja Munde, and in Satara Lok Sabha bypoll.
NCP MP from Satara Udayanraje Bhosale had quit the party and resigned as a legislator to join the BJP, which fielded him in the subsequent byelection.
However, he was worsted by NCP veteran Shriniwas Patil who won by over 80,000 votes.
In Parli, NCP's Dhananjay Munde -- Pankaja's estranged cousin -- snatched the seat away from the BJP.
"I was not shocked by the Satara result. I was sure of the result. I had no doubt about the outcome in Parli too. I was sure the result will be in favour of Dhananjay Munde," Pawar said.
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Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said after the results came on Thursday that Pawar had no reason to celebrate as the opposition was not in the position to form a government.
Asked about it, Pawar said, "We are not contented as we wanted a majority. But we are also not sad, as the big boasts (of the BJP) have not turned out to be true."
Voters did not like the BJP inducting leaders from opposition parties into its fold ahead of the elections, Pawar said.
(With inputs from PTI)
