PANAJI: Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar can impress upon Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, to replicate the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi alliance experiment in Goa during the 2022 polls, Maharashtra Shiv Sena MLA and former Minister Deepak Kesarkar said on Sunday.
Kesarkar, who was here to inaugurate the Shiv Sena's state office also said it was necessary to stem the Bharatiya Janata Party's political tide, accusing the ruling party of finishing off regional political parties by first aligning with them.
"Sharad Pawar is a senior leader who has taken the initiative to cobble together the alliance in Maharashtra. If such an alliance is formed in Goa and the votes are not allowed to be split (among non-BJP parties) then Goa too can witness a miracle," Kesarkar told reporters here.
"I hope Sharad Pawar will take the initiative to replicate the unique experiment in Maharashtra, where the government is headed by Uddhav Thackeray, here in Goa. Shiv Sena will be a part of such an alliance in Goa... Pawar has good relations with Rahul and Sonia, if I do not think it (grand alliance) should be very difficult," said Kesarkar, who has served as a Minister of State for Finance in the previous Maharashtra government.
Kesarkar said the BJP has a track record of running roughshod over "regional aspiration" by aligning with regional political parties and then finishing them.
"In Goa, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party was finished by the BJP. Put your differences aside and establish a history in Goa," Kesarkar said. (IANS)