Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday (August 20) claimed that Sharad Pawar will not make a “mistake” of joining hands with the BJP like Ajit Pawar and stated that the NCP president feels that supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi “is like supporting regressive forces”.
Ajit Pawar joined the Maharashtra government last month as deputy chief minister. He crossed over from the Opposition ranks to the ruling camp along with eight other NCP MLAs who were also sworn in as ministers.
Sharad Pawar's party is a constituent of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in the state along with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress.
"Ajit Pawar can truly be a big leader if he forms his own political party and contests elections. Ajit Pawar's politics will collapse like a sand castle if he does the same with help of the BJP, like Eknath Shinde did. In politics, towers matter and not sand castles," Raut wrote in his weekly column Rokhthok in the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana'.
Ajit grew politically due to his uncle (Sharad Pawar) and is now working to finish off his (uncle’s) political career, Raut, who is the executive editor of Saamana, alleged.
Citing the recent meetings between Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar, Raut said that the latter has taken a firm stand against the BJP and PM Modi.
"(Sharad) Pawar feels that supporting Modi is like supporting regressive forces and those who have left his party will see their political careers ending in future. Pawar will not make the mistake of joining hands with the BJP. The issue is not about individuals, but democracy versus dictatorship," he claimed.
Raut said the meeting between Pawars (on August 5) may not have been political because Sharad Pawar, who heads a number of institutions in the agriculture, cooperative and education fields, had given many responsibilities to his nephew.
He claimed that the meetings may be to decide the future of these institutions.
Raut likened Ajit Pawar to a "carpenter bird" who will "make holes" in Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's chair, and claimed it is certain that Devendra Fadnavis will give strength to the bird.
"Ajit Pawar wants to be chief minister and BJP MLAs who support Fadnavis feel Shinde is now a burden and the party (BJP) is at a loss. Shinde's claim that he has been assured of being the chief minister after 2024 is not true because in that case Ajit Pawar wouldn't have been brought in," Raut claimed.
(With PTI inputs)
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