Attempt to show strength was worrisome, says Sharad Pawar on KCR's motorcade in Pandharpur

NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Pic/PTI

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday took exception to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao arriving in Pandharpur town of Maharashtra with a huge motorcade, saying this attempt to "show strength" was worrisome, reported news agency PTI.

Rao, popularly known as KCR, and his cabinet colleagues arrived in Pandharpur on Monday in a motorcade of 600 vehicles. He offered prayers at the Vitthal Rukmini temple in the town on Tuesday, ahead of the Ashadhi Ekadashi festival on June 29.

Talking to reporters, Sharad Pawar said if a chief minister of a neighboring state came to offer prayers, there was no reason to object.

"But the attempt to show big strength in terms of number of vehicles was worrisome," Pawar was quoted as saying by PTI.

It would have been better had Rao's visit focused on enhancing cooperation between the two states, Pawar added.

Asked about Bhagirath Bhalke, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2021 Pandharpur Assembly bypoll on NCP ticket, joining the BRS at the Tuesday's rally, Pawar said there was no need to worry if an individual left the party.

"After giving ticket to Bhagirath Bhalke, we realized that our choice was wrong, but I do not want to talk about it," he said.

Rao's visit also comes days after Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders questioned his intentions behind making a serious push into Maharashtra, saying this would undermine the Opposition's unity bid against the BJP.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's visit to Maharashtra's pilgrimage town of Pandharpur on Tuesday drew a sharp reaction from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, who called the former's Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) a B-team of the BJP.

Addressing a rally in Sarkoli village, some 20 km from Pandharpur, Rao countered the charge asserting that they are a team of farmers, marginalised communities, minorities and Dalits and wondered why there is a "hue and cry" over his party's efforts to expand its base in the neighbouring state.

Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Raut said the BRS has no intentions in Maharashtra other than trying to hurt the prospects of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress, and divide votes.

"He has never visited Pandharpur in the last eight-nine years as chief minister or when he was a minister in Andhra Pradesh and a minister at the Centre," Raut said.

(With inputs from PTI)