Reiterating his view that the ongoing crisis within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was a scripted act, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday claimed that the “second NCP team” under party chief Sharad Pawar would join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“One team [under Ajit Pawar] has already entered the government. The second team [under Sharad Pawar] will follow soon… This is all a scripted thing. They [both NCP factions] are in cahoots,” Mr. Thackeray said, speaking to reporters in Pune.
Stating there was no limit on fooling the public, the MNS chief said that all hoardings featuring Ajit Pawar still had the photo of his uncle Sharad Pawar even after the former’s rebellion and statements against his uncle in public.
Quipping that he did not understand just who the Opposition in Maharashtra currently was, Mr. Thackeray said the MNS was the one party in the State which had maintained a consistent line.
Despite his affinity to the ruling BJP, Mr. Raj Thackeray – the estranged cousin of Uddhav Thackeray – hinted he was likely to go alone in the forthcoming elections. Since the past year, the MNS’ heavy tilt toward the BJP has led observers to think of a future alliance between the two.
“Alliances are not forged merely because someone meets somebody,” he said.
Ever since Ajit Pawar, along with several top NCP leaders suddenly joined the BJP-Eknath Shinde-led government on July 2, Mr. Raj Thackeray has maintained that Sharad Pawar has had a hand in these developments.
The MNS chief had earlier said he would not feel surprised if Supriya Sule [Mr. Sharad Pawar’s daughter] became a Minister in the Centre soon.
