Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday said that he is unconcerned about criticism from others and is primarily focused on the opinions of key leaders within the ruling Mahayuti alliance. His comments followed an incident where BJP workers, led by the party’s Junnar chief Asha Buchake, waved black flags at his convoy.
'I pay attention to Shinde Bawankule and Fadnavis'
Pawar during his Jan Sanman Yatra in Mumbai said, "I don’t have anything to do with what other people say. I pay attention to the key people, CM Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena and Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP.”
The Nationalist Congress Party, led by Ajit Pawar, has called on Fadnavis, who also serves as the Home Minister, to clarify whether he condones the behaviour of the BJP workers.
Buchake had alleged that the NCP is attempting to promote its candidate for the Junnar seat in the upcoming assembly elections. “They are trying to strangle us… Therefore we have adopted an aggressive stand,” she told reporters after the protesters raised slogans against Ajit Pawar.
An official meeting was organised on tourism development in Junnar on Sunday but the BJP was not invited for the meeting, she said. “If we are part of Mahayuti, then why were pictures of CM Shinde and deputy CM Fadnavis not put up in the meeting hall,” she added.
Will Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule celebrate Raksha Bandhan
When asked if he would receive a 'rakhi' from his estranged cousin Supriya Sule on Raksha Bandhan, Ajit Pawar responded, “I will do it if she is in Mumbai today.” Raksha Bandhan, which occurs on the final day of the Hindu month of Sawan, is traditionally celebrated with sisters tying a 'rakhi' on their brothers' wrists.
Last week, Pawar expressed regret for having his wife, Sunetra Pawar, run against Supriya Sule in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, which Sule won.
Pawar had accepted that he made a mistake and said, “I love all my sisters. No one should allow politics to enter homes. I made a mistake in fielding Sunetra against my sister. This should not have happened. But the parliamentary board of NCP took the decision which I followed. Now I feel it was wrong”.
