Amid all the political chemistry going on in the country with full focus on the Parliamentary polls of 2024, especially after the formation of Opposition INDIA alliance, Sharad Pawar is all set to share the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today in Pune on Tuesday in the run up to the Opposition’s meeting here on August 25-26.
On the other hand, many INDIA alliance leaders are opposed to Sharad Pawar sharing the dais with PM Modi. They are of the opinion that attending a function jointly will harm Opposition’s unity and credibility. MPs of Sharad faction are of the opinion that it was Prime Minister Modi who was instrumental in splitting the NCP.
Shiv Sena Uddhav faction leader Sanjay Raut feels that bestowing honour on Modi would be inappropriate at this time when the alliance is against NDA whose leader is Modi.
Interestingly, twenty six parties have joined hands to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
Many allies feel that it was Modi who had compared INDIA alliance with terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM).
Sharad Pawar’s dilemma seems not to be ending as he has made a commitment to Rohit Tilak, grandson of great freedom fighter Lokmanya Gangadhar Tilak.
Set up in 1983, the Lokmanya Tilak Award is handed over by the Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust annually on August 1–the freedom fighter’s death anniversary–which says it picks out people who have worked for the nation’s progress and development.
PM Modi will become the 41st recipient of the award, which has previously gone to former Presidents Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma and Pranab Mukherjee, former PMs Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh, businessmen N R Narayana Murthy and Cyrus Poonawala and engineer E Sreedharan among others.
More than the previous editions, this year’s event will be keenly observed in the light of the upcoming battle of ballots between the ruling NDA and the fledgling Opposition INDIA.
Function will be held at SP college ground in Pune and Pawar camp claims this confirmation of attending the function was given much prior to the Ajit Pawar-led rebellion.