The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday (July 17) said that a decision on the potential entry of any leader in his party will be a collective one, refusing to confirm whether Ajit Pawar will be accommodated if he chooses to come back.
During his interaction with media in Pune, Sharad Pawar spoke on multiple issues but when he was asked whether his estranged nephew and current Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra in the Mahayuti government will be welcomed back into the party.
Relevant decisions cannot be taken at personal level-Pawar
Responding to a query, the Pawar senior said everyone has a place in the house. When reporters specifically asked if Ajit Pawar has a place in the NCP (SP), Sharad Pawar said, "Such decisions cannot be taken at the personal level. My colleagues who stood by me during the crisis will be asked first".
What happened in Maharashtra politics in 2023?
Ajit Pawar split the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), founded by Sharad Pawar, in July 2023 when he led some MLAs loyal to him to join the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government, also comprising the Shiv Sena and BJP.
Ajit also secured the party name and poll symbol- the watch- from the Election Commission. Speculations about unrest in the Ajit Pawar camp started doing rounds after the NCP led by him lost three of the four seats it contested in recent Lok Sabha elections.
The NCP (SP) led by Sharad Pawar scored an impressive victory by winning 8 out of 10 constituencies it contested in alliance with Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT). The Pawar senior recently admitted that some MLAs from the breakaway NCP led by Ajit Pawar had met his party's senior leader Jayant Patil.
At least two dozen leaders of Ajit Pawar faction join Sharad Pawar’s NCP
Spelling a setback for Nationalist Congress Party President and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, around two dozen office-bearers of Pimpri-Chinchwad hitched on to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, on Wednesday (July 17).
A beaming Sharad Pawar personally welcomed the office-bearers, comprising 20 ex-municipal corporators including several women, to the NCP (SP) fold offering them the party flags, stoles and his blessings, in the presence of other party leaders at a small function held at his residence.
Among the prominent ones who switched sides include the former NCP city president Ajit Gavhane, executive president Rahul Bhosale, student wing chief Yash Sane, Bhosari assembly seat head Pankaj Bhalekar, and around 20 former municipal corporators and other unit heads.
They had submitted their resignations to NCP state President Sunil Tatkare while Sane had sent in his papers to the NCP Student Wing President Prashant Kadam earlier this week and crossed over to the NCP (SP) on Wednesday.
The rattling development came ahead of Sharad Pawar’s upcoming rally in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Saturday (July 20), and more NCP leaders-office-bearers from other parts of Pune district are likely to follow suit, with the state Assembly elections barely three months away.
Some of the office-bearers like Gavhane were reportedly peeved at not getting an NCP ticket for the Lok Sabha polls or lost all hopes for the upcoming Assembly elections from the NCP and hopped over to the NCP (SP), said a Pune leader.
(With agencies inputs)
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