Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Sharad Pawar loyalist Jayant Patil quashed all speculation that he allegedly met with Home Minister Amit Shah in Pune during the latter’s visit to Pune on August 6.
Categorically denying rumours of his purported meeting with Mr. Shah in Pune, Mr. Patil, speaking in Mumbai on August 6, stressed he had never ventured out of Mumbai since Saturday and exhorted news channels to stop broadcasting misleading reports about him.
“All the while I was in Mumbai. I was at Pawar saheb’s [Sharad Pawar’s] home yesterday [Saturday]. Then, on Saturday night, I had a meeting with senior party members, including Anil Deshmukh and Rajesh Tope, which continued till the wee hours of Sunday. Today morning, I again had a meeting with Mr. Pawar regarding internal party matters. So, where could I have met him [Amit Shah]? We are all with Mr. Pawar and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi [MVA],” clarified Mr. Patil, a seven-term MLA from Sangli’s Islampur-Walwa constituency.
Speculation was rife that Mr. Patil, considered a staunch Sharad Pawar loyalist, had apparently met with Mr. Shah at Pune’s J.W. Marriott hotel on Sunday along with other Sharad Pawar faction MLAs such as Prajakt Tanpure and Suman Patil and that the meeting was reportedly mediated by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar himself.
The rumours triggered speculation that Mr. Patil might align himself with the rebel NCP faction led by Mr. Ajit Pawar and join the ruling government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena- Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction.
‘It’s entertainment for me, but improper’
Accusing the media of spreading false reports about him, Mr. Patil quipped, “You [the media] create such news and it is up to you to end this speculation. While it is entertainment for me, it is improper to keep spreading such misleading news.”
He further denied he was under any political pressure from anyone nor had received any “offers” from any of the ruling parties.
Commenting on the rumours concerning Mr. Patil, Shinde camp leader and Industries Minister Uday Samant, however, said it would be a good thing from the government’s point of view if Mr. Patil joined Mr. Ajit Pawar and became part of the ruling coalition.
“I do not know whether he met with Mr. Shah or not. But if he did, then perhaps he must have felt that the government is rapidly carrying out development now that Ajit Pawar has joined us. I do not understand why Mr. Patil did not join us earlier given that he is a senior leader. Now, if he has indeed taken a decision to join Ajit Pawar’s group and come with us, then it is good from our point of view,” Mr. Samant said.
Mr. Patil, who was the NCP’s State president prior to Mr. Ajit Pawar’s rebellion, has always been considered close to Mr. Sharad Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule and a political rival to Mr. Ajit Pawar within the party.
However, moments of bonhomie shared with Sunil Tatkare, a senior leader of Ajit’s NCP faction, and Mr. Ajit Pawar himself during the recently concluded monsoon session stoked the grapevine in Maharashtra’s already febrile political clime.
