Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 19: Amidst talk of the former Maharashtra deputy chief minister and currently the leader of the opposition in the state Assembly Ajit Pawar quitting the Nationalist Congress Party and his firmly denying any such move, the Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat has warned that if Pawar joined hands with the BJP with a group of NCP MLAs, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction would quit the state government.
Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Shirsat, whose party shares power with the BJP in Maharashtra, said he did not think the NCP would go with the BJP directly. “Our policy is clear about it. The NCP is a party which betrays. We will not be with the NCP even in power. If the BJP takes NCP with them, Maharashtra will not like it. We decided to move out (of the earlier undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray) because people didn’t like us going with the Congress and NCP,” he said.
“We left the Congress-NCP (which were part of the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government) because we didn’t want to be with them. Ajit Pawar doesn’t have a free hand there. Therefore, if he leaves the NCP, we will welcome him. If he comes along with a group of NCP (leaders), we will not be in the government,” the Shiv Sena leader said.
He said Ajit Pawar’s displeasure is because his son Parth Pawar lost election earlier. His displeasure has no connection with the case of a plea seeking disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs pending before the Supreme Court. Shirsat was recently appointed spokesperson of the Shiv Sena-led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Parth Pawar was defeated in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll from Maval constituency in Maharashtra. “Ajit Pawar not being reachable is not a new thing. But his displeasure, which is being shown by the media, and our case (pending before the Supreme Court) has no relation. Ajit Pawar is disgruntled since his son Parth Pawar had lost the election,” Shirsat said.
Ajit Pawar was held responsible for the oath ceremony held at dawn (in November 2019 with Devendra Fadnavis). After two-and-a-half years, Sharad Pawar said it was an experiment to revoke President’s rule,” he claimed. Shirsat said Ajit Pawar has not clarified over the incident till date.
The Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government formed in a hush-hush ceremony in November 2019 had lasted for three days. Shirsat said Ajit Pawar was a big leader and he would not tell easily about what was going on in his mind.
He also slammed the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s move to hold rallies in parts of the state, as a show of unity and strength. “We have to search for Ajit Pawar’s stand in the ongoing rallies of MVA. He could not speak at the rally in Nagpur. The party which has only 15 MLAs (Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena) is the key speaker and the one which has 54 MLAs is side-tracked. This is disrespect of Ajit Pawar.” he said.
But the NCP Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule has indicated that there will be two major political “blasts”, one in Delhi and another in Maharashtra, within the next 15 days.
She made the comments when some reporters asked her on Tuesday about Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar’s statement that there would be political “blasts” in the next 15 days in the state. “There will be one in Delhi and the other in the state,” Supriya Sule, daughter of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, said without elaborating.
Notably, senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who is the nephew of Sharad Pawar, on Tuesday said he would work for his party till he is alive and rubbished speculation that he and a group of MLAs loyal to him might align with the ruling BJP.
Asked about speculation over Ajit Pawar’s next political move, disgruntlement and proximity with the BJP, Ms Sule said, “What has happened is that for any development, my brother (Ajit Pawar) is held responsible. Everybody talks about a coin that is in demand in the market.”
On claims of some MLAs being “not reachable”, she said not being in the range does not mean a person is not reachable. Speaking on reports claiming that 40 NCP MLAs were ready to go with Ajit Pawar, Ms Sule said Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar, and NCP state chief Jayant Patil are available to all the MLAs round-the-clock and she also speak to the legislators.
“If there is anyone who is disgruntled, we would come to know about it. If there is a shred of truth in your reports and I come to know from you (media) that certain MLAs are disgruntled, I will definitely talk to them,” she said.