Leader of the National Congress Party (NCP) Sharad Pawar has asked people in each state to vote for parties not with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to ensure that the party doesn't come to power in 2019.
Economic Times quoted Pawar as saying, "We have to get the parties together that are not with BJP now. The aim should be to get the BJP out (of power), then after the elections whichever party has more MPs can claim the PM's chair."
He said he wanted to ask people to support the biggest non-NDA party in each state.
Reports said that Pawar was happy that Congress President Rahul Gandhi was not hurrying to be prime minister and that the party with the largest number of seats in the 2019 General elections should come to power.
NDTV reported Pawar, who made the remarks at a meeting in Mumbai, as saying, "Let elections take place, remove these people (BJP) from power. We will sit together. Whichever party has got more seats can claim the prime minister's post. I am happy that the Congress leader (Rahul Gandhi) has also said he is not in the race for the prime minister's post."
This comes after Gandhi said on Monday that he was not in a rush to become PM.
Pawar reportedly said that it was about an ideological battle and he had realised there was a risk to India since the 2014 elections.
Pawar isn't the only leader of a regional party who has been critical of the Modi government and has talked of non-BJP parties to come together.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav have all spoken of "secular" forces coming together for to defeat Modi.
However, it has been seen in the past that an SP-Congress alliance failed miserably in the Uttar Pradesh elections.