Assembly polls: Results to have no impact on INDIA bloc, says Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday, 3 December said the outcome of the Assembly elections in four states will not have any impact on the INDIA bloc, which comprises more than 25 Opposition parties led by the Congress.

Based on the initial rounds of counting, the BJP seems set to snatch power from the Congress in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and retain it in Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress is leading on 65 out of 199 seats in Telangana, while the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, which was ruling the state for the past 10 years, is ahead on 39 seats.

"I don't think this will have any impact on the INDIA bloc. We will be meeting (on 6 December) at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in Delhi. We will speak to those who know the ground reality. We will be able to comment on it after the meeting only," Pawar said.

One must accept that the current trends are in favour of the BJP, the NCP chief and Opposition stalwart added.

On the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led BRS trailing the Congress in the southern state, Pawar said it would be too early to say anything. "Earlier, it was assumed the BRS would retain Telangana. However, after Rahul Gandhi's rally, which received a huge response, we realised there will be change in the state," Pawar claimed.

Pawar's NCP is part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which was formed to take on the ruling BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Assembly polls were held in the month of November in Chhattisgarh (7 and 17), Mizoram (7), Madhya Pradesh (17), Rajasthan (25) and Telangana (30).