Mumbai
Stating he was “happy” Congress president Rahul Gandhi has made it clear he was not driven by prime ministerial ambitions, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Monday said the aim should be to vote out the BJP and that any party in the Opposition getting the maximum seats after the 2019 polls could claim the top post.

“And I am happy that the Congress leader (Rahul Gandhi) has also said he is not in the race for the prime minister’s post,” he said at a party meeting in Mumbai.

Pawar pressed for forging alliances of anti-BJP parties at state level and favoured picking up the prime ministerial candidate after the election results, as happened after the 1977 and 2004 General Elections.
Raising concerns over the alleged instances of EVM tampering, Pawar asked the Election Commission to revert to using ballot papers during polling.

Congress leaders Ashok Gehlot and Ashok Chavan and NCP leaders Praful Patel and Jayant Patil would discuss seat sharing between the two parties in a week or two, he said.

Pawar’s remarks comes a day after the Congress president said he was not driven by an ambition to become prime minister.