UPA requires blessings of Left parties: Pawar

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday sought to keep the doors open for Left parties in the post-poll scenario and said the UPA will decide its prime minister after the elections.

"I honestly feel that this time we require the blessings and support of the Left parties. That is why from the first day, I am consistently saying to all my colleagues in the UPA
that let us keep good rapport with the Left," Pawar said.

He was responding to a question about his views on receiving Left support if the UPA required it for forming a government after the elections.

"They have been supporting us. The credit goes to the Left also that we were able to give the country a stable government. The Left is the only section which will never
support a communal outfit," he told reporters after casting his vote here.

The Maratha strongman also refused to toe the Congress line on the question of next prime minister, saying a decision on UPA prime minister can be taken only after a meeting of its allies.

"Congress has every right to declare Manmohan Singh as prime minister. (But) when you take a decision on behalf of the UPA, you (UPA allies) will have to sit together and
decide." 

"It is premature at this stage to discuss this issue," Pawar said when asked whether he still continued to be in the race for prime ministership. "UPA partners will be able to
resolve the leadership issue to offer a stable government."

The NCP supremo said he was confident that Congress-NCP-RPI alliance in Maharashtra would win a majority of the 48 Lok Sabha seats. Pawar said he will hold discussions with leaders of RJD, Samajwadi Party and LJP, which are contesting against Congress in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, back into the "umbrella of UPA".

Asked about NCP rebels in Western Maharashtra, Pawar said it was confined to only one constituency (Kolhapur) and the party would romp home there. Pawar is contesting Madha Lok Sabha seat in Solapur district. He is registered as a voter in Baramati his home town.

His daughter Supriya Sule refused to comment on the talk of Pawar's prime ministerial prospects in the post-poll scenario, saying she was not qualified to discuss these
things. 

"I am at the moment concentrating on ensuring maximum voting in Baramati," she said.

A steady flow of voters were seen in Baramati where Supriya is contesting as NCP candidate, opposed by Kanta Nalawde of BJP. In Pune city, Congress candidate Suresh Kalmadi and in Solapur Union Power minister Sushilkumar Shinde cast their
votes early in the morning.