Sonia, Pawar share dais after 15 years

IANS/Bhandara, Maharashtra After a gap of nearly 15 years, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar yesterday shared the dais as they jointly campaigned for United Progressive Alliance candidates here. The uncertainties of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections apparently brought Pawar - who had broken away from the Congress in 1998 protesting against Gandhi’s Italian origins - closer to her. Pawar floated the NCP in 1999 which however later became part of the Congress-led UPA at the Centre and also in Maharashtra where the alliance is in power for 14 years. Gandhi’s first rally in Maharashtra this year saw Pawar joining her to campaign for the NCP candidate and federal minister Praful Patel in the region which is affected by Maoist insurgency. Speaking at the huge rally comprising mostly farmers and tribals, Gandhi listed the achievements of the government. “The Congress has always supported the farming community and has always been behind them. We have extended help to the farmers hit by the recent natural disasters,” she said. Referring to the Maoists, she said efforts are underway to end the rebels’ violence through implementing various developmental schemes. In his address, Pawar targeted Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and called him a man in great hurry to occupy the top post. “He is in great hurry to become the bridegroom,” he quipped, saying only the Congress and NCP can ensure development of the country and sought the people’s support.