Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Monday said there is “no confusion” within the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance over his “secret” meeting with nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in Pune. “The MVA is united and we will successfully organise the next meeting of opposition bloc INDIA in Mumbai on 31 August and 1 September,” Pawar senior told reporters in Baramati.
This was the 82-year-old veteran politician’s maiden visit to his home turf after Ajit joined the Eknath Shinde-led government on 2 July. MVA constituents Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) had asked the NCP chief to “clear the confusion” such meetings between the uncle and nephew created in political circles. The NCP president also said, “Myself, Uddhav Thackeray and state Congress president Nana Patole have taken the responsibility of organising the INDIA meeting in Mumbai…The NCP has no association with ‘factions from MVA’ which align with the BJP at the state and national level,” he said, apparently referring to Ajit’s move.
Pawar however sidestepped a question on an editorial in Monday’s issue of the Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece “Saamana” expressing displeasure over the frequent meetings between him and the younger Pawar.
“It is ‘amusing’ to see Ajit Pawar is frequently meeting [his uncle] Sharad Pawar and the latter is also not avoiding it,” the Monday editorial in Saamana read. “There is a hunch that BJP’s ‘Chanakya’ is trying to create some confusion by sending Ajit to meet senior Pawar. However, such meetings tarnish the image of Sharad Pawar and it is not good,” it said. The comments came two days after the duo met at the residence of a businessman in Pune, causing a flutter. Sharad Pawar’s NCP is an ally of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress in the state, on Sunday said his party will not go with the BJP though some “well-wishers” are trying to persuade him. He also said there was nothing wrong if his nephew Ajit Pawar meets him. The editorial in the Marathi daily also said, “This daily game of creation of confusion has now gone beyond the minds of people. The people have become numb to it because of the current political games.”
Asked about rumours that Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil may join hands with the BJP and whether there was a discussion about him during a meeting with Ajit in Pune, the NCP president said no such discussion took place. “I heard Jayant Patil’s brother received a notice [from the Enforcement Directorate]. Such steps are being taken by misusing the power. Some of our colleagues received notices, and then they went with the BJP and a similar attempt is being made in the case of Jayant Patil, but I am sure his stand regarding the ideology is clear,”
he said.
