Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 13: Yet another close-door meeting, this time supposed to be a “secret one” between the veteran leader and founder president of the Nationalist Congress Party and his rebel nephew and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has fuelled speculations about the future moves of the NCP.
The development that has ignited a buzz in Maharashtra political circle, the “secret meeting” was supposed to have been held on Saturday afternoon at a businessman’s residence in Pune. Reports said the hour-long meeting, which has triggered a wide array of speculations in state politics, was held at businessman Atul Chordia’s bungalow in Koregaon Park in Pune. Sharad Pawar’s convoy left Chordia’s house an hour before Ajit Pawar’s.
The Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil on Sunday said though he was not aware of what transpired between Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar, it was “not a secret meeting.” “I went with Pawar saheb to a common acquaintance and left early. I am not aware of what transpired later,” he said.
Mr Patil said his brother had received a notice from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking information about some company. Four days ago, he (Patil’s brother) went to the ED office and submitted all the details he knew. It is wrong to link the ED notice to yesterday’s meeting,” the NCP leader said.
It was the fourth time Ajit Pawar has called on his uncle suddenly since he deserted the party to join hands with the Shiv Sena (Shinde) – BJP government last month. The entire NCP rebel group led by Ajit Pawar had called on the veteran leader on two consecutive days last month when the senior Pawar was attending a function in Mumbai while Ajit Pawar had also met the veteran leader at his residence when his aunt was unwell.
State Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he has no information about such a meeting. “I can’t add to your knowledge,” the BJP leader told reporters.
NCP MLA Rohit Pawar, the grandnephew of Sharad Pawar, also said he was not aware of a meeting between the party founder and the deputy CM, but even if there has been a meeting, there was “nothing wrong in maintaining communication in a family.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) has downplayed the “secret” meeting, with Sanjay Raut saying the Maratha strongman may have asked his nephew to join the meeting of the opposition bloc INDIA here on August 31 and September 1.
“If Nawaz Sharif and PM Narendra Modi can meet, then why not Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar? We get to know from the media that Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar met yesterday, Sharad Pawar will speak on it soon. I think Sharad Pawar invited Ajit Pawar for the INDIA bloc meeting.”
Visuals aired by regional news channels showed Sharad Pawar arriving at the residence of the businessman in Koregaon Park area at around 1 pm on Saturday. He left by around 5 pm. Later, Ajit Pawar was seen leaving the premises in a car at 6.45 pm while apparently trying to avoid cameras.
On speculations that he may join the Ajit Pawar faction, Jayant Patil said he has already made his stand clear. Asked if he was with Sharad Pawar, Patil said, “Yes, don’t keep any doubt in your mind.” There is no split in the NCP, he claimed, adding both the factions say Sharad Pawar was their leader. “Everyone puts his (Sharad Pawar’s) photo and they say they work for him, so there is no split,” he added.
In a sudden development that stunned the political circles in Maharashtra last month, Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government. Eight other NCP MLAs supporting him took oath as ministers. However, the division within the NCP is still blurred as out of 54 MLAs, the exact number of legislators supporting the groups led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar is not known.
The crisis in the NCP has also weakened the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra just a year after Eknath Shinde walked out with 40 Sena MLAs and took oath as Chief Minister of Maharashtra with the support of BJP.