Mumbai, April 03: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) will get the "magic figure"
after the Lok Sabha polls and be in a position to form the next government at the Centre.
Addressing the media after releasing the NCP's manifesto here, Pawar made it clear that the UPA would select its leader who would be the next prime minister.
He said people are satisfied with the policies and the performance of the UPA and hence its chances of winning are bright.
Pawar reiterated that Manmohan Singh was the prime ministerial candidate of the Congress party and not the UPA. He pointed out that it was the NCP which had suggested the name of Singh as the next prime minister.
Asked what would be the scenario if the UPA failed to achieve the "magic figure", Pawar said then the secular parties and secular forces would support the UPA.
"We shall not do anything that would prove beneficial to the opposition National Democratic Alliance," he declared.
To a question, Pawar asserted that the NCP was part of the UPA and not the Third Front as is being speculated.
However, referring to his skipping the Biju Janata Dal (BJD)-Left-NCP rally in Orissa Friday, Pawar clarified that it was a Biju Janata Dal rally and not organised by the Third Front.
Left leader A B Bardhan has said that I am not a member of the Third Front," added the NCP chief.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, April 03, 2009, 00:00