There was an ideological difference within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which had nothing to do with the Pawar family, said Baramati MP Supriya Sule on Friday following her first visit to her constituency after the NCP split last month.
Ms. Sule, NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s daughter and a three-term MP from Baramati (in Pune district), was visiting the bastion of the Pawar clan since her cousin, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar split the party on July 2 to align his rebel faction with the ruling BJP-Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena government.
“An ideological difference has arisen within the NCP wherein some of its members may have felt the need for a different political alliance. This has nothing to do with Pawar family. The NCP is not the Pawar family,” Ms. Sule said.
When asked about the split, she stressed that it was a difference of ideology and not borne out of any personal differences and that there was nothing wrong in people holding different ideological views.
Ms. Sule emphasised the contrasting ideological approaches taken by Mr. Sharad Pawar and his brother-in-law N.D. Patil, a towering figure of the Left and the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP).
“N.D. Patil, who was my uncle [husband of Mr. Sharad Pawar’s sister Saroj Patil], took a different ideological approach by remaining with the PWP while Mr. Sharad Pawar was with the Congress. Yet, there was no difference in their personal relations,” she said.
Several workers of the Ajit Pawar-led rebel group met with Ms. Sule during her visit, raising eyebrows amid recent doubts within the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition parties - the Congress and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT) – about the allegiance of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction.
When asked about the confusion being created because the NCP cadre appeared to be on side of both the Ajit Pawar and the Sharad Pawar-led factions, Ms. Sule said: “There is no question for any question. This was a family programme that I attended today and hence everyone had come to meet me.”
Ms. Sule further said that people of Baramati could not be alluded merely as NCP workers as they were “like one big family” and that no one should read anything wrong into her meet with all NCP cadre.
“Baramati is my karmabhoomi. My politics in Baramati is more in the nature of social work. I have been working here as a servant of the people for the last 15 years and am confident they will always remain by my side during the Lok Sabha election. I have entered politics to serve, to address questions of farmers and for Maharashtra’s prestige,” Ms. Sule said, adding she would always ensure that Baramati remained as “Delhi’s pride” in the Parliament.
The NCP leader cornered the BJP-ruled Central government over its alleged insensitivity on the crisis in Manipur, stating that the Opposition INDIA bloc had brought pressure to bear on PM Modi on the issue.
