Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 17: The Ajit Pawar faction is learnt to have made the second attempt on Monday to persuade the Nationalist Congress Party patriarch Sharad Pawar to join hands with the BJP and attend the NDA meet in Delhi on Tuesday.
A day after the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar met Sharad Pawar on Sunday with several loyalist MLAs to seek his blessings, he again visited his uncle on Monday with his supporters. Praful Patel, senior Pawar’s close aide who rebelled along with Ajit Pawar to join the BJP-Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra, said several NCP cabinet ministers were not present during the surprise visit yesterday as it was a Sunday.
“They met Sharad Pawar today after the Assembly session, and he patiently listened to us,” he said, adding that the senior leader didn’t say anything. Patel maintained that at Monday’s meeting again they had urged the party veteran to ensure that the NCP “remained united.”
“In today’s [Monday’s] meeting with Sharad Saheb, we again asked him to ensure that the NCP stays united. Although he attentively listened to us, like yesterday, even today, he refrained from offering a reaction,” Patel said following a half-hour meeting with Pawar Senior. They, however, did not clarify on what terms they requested the veteran leader to keep the party united “under his leadership.”
“After learning that Pawar Saheb was heading to Chavan Centre, we immediately rushed here from Assembly to meet him. Since some of the MLAs couldn’t attend the meeting yesterday as they were in their respective constituencies due to Sunday, they came to meet him today under the leadership of Ajit Pawar. We came here to have the darshan of Pawar Saheb and seek his blessings,” the former Union Minister said.
A senior leader from Sharad Pawar’s camp, however, claimed that “They are requesting Pawar Saheb to join the NDA.” He said Sharad Pawar was not aware of his nephew and other legislators’ visit to the Chavan Centre to meet him. “He was on his way to the Chavan Centre when Ajit Pawar and other MLAs came. He was not expecting them today. It was a surprise visit,” he said.
He said Pawar Junior and Patel reportedly discussed with Sharad Pawar the disqualification petition filed by the latter’s camp against nine rebel MLAs, who are now ministers in the Eknath Shinde Cabinet. “They are requesting Pawar Saheb to join the NDA,” the leader said.
But while Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel confirmed that they would be attending the NDA meet in Delhi on Tuesday, Sharad Pawar, who skipped the opposition get together over dinner in Bengaluru on Monday, was expected to attend the opposition conclave on Tuesday.
The Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge said in Bengaluru that he had spoken to Sharad Pawar and the veteran leader had confirmed his participation in Tuesday’s meeting.
According to reports, Sharad Pawar addressed the party workers later in the day and made it clear that he will continue his “progressive politics” and never ally with the BJP. The NCP patriarch, 82, has been a leading player in trying to unite various parties against the ruling BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Downplaying the Ajit Pawar faction meeting with Sharad Pawar, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said Sharad Pawar had led the NCP for 20 years and the meeting was “no big deal.”
As the monsoon session commenced, as many as 27 out of the 53 MLAs of the NCP were absent. One NCP MLA, Nawab Malik is currently under judicial custody in connection with a money laundering case. Out of the 24 NCP MLAs who attended the session, Ajit Pawar, cabinet ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, Dhananjay Munde, Anil Patil and Dharmarao Atram were seated on the ruling side.
The first day of the session saw Congress legislators shouting slogans against the state government, accusing it of indulging in corruption. From the Shiv Sena (UBT), only Ambadas Danve, who is the leader of opposition in the state Legislative Council, was present during the protest. No legislator from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP camp was present during the protest.
The Sharad Pawar camp consulted with their legal team in Delhi for passing a resolution through MLAs, sources said. While the legal opinion sought for was to remain in Opposition benches, but even the legal team is confused with the back-and-forth meetings. As per the legal opinion, Sharad Pawar camp MLAs were to pass a resolution to remain in Opposition and to forward that resolution to Assembly Speaker.
