Sharad blasts Ajit for bid to ‘sow confusion’

Mumbai: In a fresh twist to the power struggle within the Nationalist Congress Party, Maharashtra’s new deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday asserted he was still with the party and that Sharad Pawar continued to be his leader. However, his claims were promptly shot down by the senior Pawar, who claimed that Ajit was “trying to mislead the people”.

While Ajit Pawar said the BJP-NCP alliance would provide a stable government in the state, Sharad Pawar countered it by saying there was no question of an alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra.

Ever since he was sworn in as deputy CM, Ajit Pawar had gone incommunicado. However, he got active on the social media after nearly 30 hours by posting a series of tweets. He changed his Twitter bio to “Deputy Chief Minister, Maharashtra,” but described himself as a “Nationalist Congress Party Leader”.

Initially, Ajit Pawar thanked several top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for their congratulatory messages. “Thank you Hon. Prime Minister @narendramodi ji. We will ensure a stable Government that will work hard for the welfare of the people of Maharashtra (sic),” he tweeted. But his later tweets raised eve more eyebrows in political circles. He said: “I am in the NCP and shall always be in the NCP and @PawarSpeaks Saheb is our leader. Our BJP-NCP alliance shall provide a stable Government in Maharashtra for the next five years which will work sincerely for the welfare of the State and its people (sic).”

His comments created a lot of confusion within the NCP as they indicated Sharad Pawar was aware of his nephew’s actions. However, the NCP chief promptly came forward to clear the dust.

“There is no question of forming an alliance with @BJP4Maharashtra. NCP has unanimously decided to ally with @ShivSena & @INCMaharashtra to form the government (sic),” Mr Pawar tweeted.

“Shri Ajit Pawar’s statement is false and misleading in order to create confusion and false perception among the people (sic),” he added.

Earlier, the efforts of NCP leaders to bring Ajit Pawar back to the party yielded no results. Senior leaders Jayant Patil and Dilip Walse-Patil met Ajit Pawar at his residence to persuade him to change his mind. But their efforts yielded no positive results.

Rohit Pawar, the grand-nephew of Sharad Pawar, meanwhile, also appealed for unity both within the family and the party. Making an emotional appeal to Ajit Pawar, he said: “Since childhood, I have seen how ‘Pawar Saheb’ (Sharad Pawar) was never lacking in anything – whether personal or political... When I lost my grandfather Appasaheb Pawar (Sharad Pawar’s brother), it was ‘Pawar Saheb’ who first consoled my father Rajendra... I have witnessed how, when Ajit Pawar lost his father Anantrao, again it was ‘Pawar Saheb’ who looked after him (Ajit Pawar).”