Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) patriarch Sharad Pawar’s ‘clandestine’ meeting with his nephew, rebel NCP leader Ajit Pawar in Pune has disconcerted his Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies — Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction and the Congress — even as Mr. Sharad Pawar on Monday reiterated there was “no confusion” regarding his NCP faction having any truck with the ruling BJP.
Even as Mr. Thackeray’s Sena (UBT) sharply criticised Mr. Sharad Pawar for his repeated meetings with his nephew — four in little over a month — who split the NCP on July 2, the octogenarian NCP chief maintained the opposition MVA coalition remained united.
“The parties which have come together as the MVA have done so on basis of a common objective [to defeat the BJP]. The MVA stands united and we will successfully organise the next meeting of opposition INDIA bloc in Mumbai that will take place on August 31 and September 1. Journalists must not create confusion by repeatedly asking me where I stand,” said Mr. Sharad Pawar, speaking to reporters in his political bastion of Baramati.
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Mr. Ajit Pawar, who split his uncle’s party last month and aligned himself with the ruling BJP-Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena government, met with Mr. Sharad Pawar at the residence of a Pune businessman on Saturday evening. Senior NCP leader Jayant Patil, a known Sharad Pawar loyalist, was also present.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT), which normally defers to Mr. Sharad Pawar, slammed the NCP chief in its mouthpiece Saamana, remarking that repeated meetings with his nephew were “tarnishing Sharad Pawar’s image” and creating confusion in the minds of the electorate.
Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut, known for his affinity to Mr. Pawar, strongly criticised the latter remarking how would the Sena (UBT) cadre feel if his party’s top leaders had daily tea meetings with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the rival Sena faction.
“The point is why should your [Mr. Sharad Pawar’s] workers fight in the streets if you sit with those who have allied with the BJP? Tomorrow, if we sat for tea with Eknath Shinde while our workers keep fighting for ideological reasons, how would they feel? The Shiv Sena does not have this pretence in its DNA,” Mr. Raut said.
Also Read: NCP will not go with BJP though some well-wishers are trying to persuade me, says Sharad Pawar
‘Tall leader of MVA’
While acknowledging Mr. Sharad Pawar as “a tall leader” of the MVA and the INDIA bloc, Mr. Raut pointedly said sowing confusion in the minds of voters and his party members was not expected from the 82-year-old NCP chief.
“We [Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT)] too were friends once with Eknath Shinde and Raj Thackeray. But when our political paths are separate, then top leaders must take care to ensure there is no confusion in the minds of the electorate and their cadre,” he said.
Mr. Raut further said that in the recent meeting between Mr. Thackeray and the Maharashtra Congress leadership, both parties had discussions about the impact on the MVA alliance of the confusion created by Mr. Sharad Pawar’s repeated meetings with Mr. Ajit Pawar even after the split in the NCP.
Ever since the NCP split on July 2, Sena (UBT) and Congress leaders have expressed strong doubts about Mr. Sharad Pawar and his faction sticking on with the MVA.
The leaders of both parties feel that the perception being created owing to Mr. Sharad Pawar’s meetings with Ajit was that the octogenarian leader was running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.
“There has been intense speculation that Mr. Sharad Pawar would be announcing his resignation sometime soon, thus indirectly aiding the BJP and giving his blessings to his nephew’s rebel faction. There has also been considerable speculation about his closest aide Jayant Patil, who was present during Saturday’s meeting, about joining the BJP,” said a senior Congress leader, requesting anonymity.
However, Mr. Sharad Pawar denied any truth in the speculation about Mr. Patil joining the BJP.
Meanwhile, senior Congressman Prithviraj Chavan has said that during Saturday’s meeting, Mr. Ajit Pawar apparently conveyed to the Pawar senior about offers made by the BJP to accommodate him as well as his daughter MP Supriya Sule in top posts at the Centre.
“However, as per my information, Pawar saheb has not accepted the offer conveyed by the BJP through Mr. Ajit Pawar,” said Mr. Chavan.
