More than three years after senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar joined hands with the BJP to form a short-lived government in Maharashtra, the political circle in the state is again abuzz with talk of him cosying up to the BJP. With speculation that he may join the BJP-Shiv Sena government along with a group of loyal NCP MLAs getting stronger Tuesday, Ajit Pawar as well as NCP chief Sharad Pawar separately came out in public to deny what they called “rumours”.
In the morning, amid talk of a possible split in the NCP doing the rounds, key leaders of the Opposition MVA alliance, including Sharad Pawar, party MP Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and his party MP Sanjay Raut, held a conference call to discuss the matter.
Ajit Pawar, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, did not participate in the meeting.
Although Sharad Pawar later in the day dismissed talk of a rift in his party, several NCP MLAs reached the Vidhan Bhawan in Mumbai to meet Ajit Pawar. Some MLAs loyal to Ajit Pawar said any decision taken by him was acceptable to them, fuelling the rumours further, and forcing their leader to clarify in the afternoon that rumours are being spread against him.
The speculation of a possible defection triggered last week after it surfaced that the Enforcement Directorate had not named him in its chargesheet in a money laundering case related to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd, in which a company linked to him and his wife is the majority shareholder.
Another factor that kept the rumour mills running is the fact that the Supreme Court judgment over a plea to disqualify 16 Shiv Sena MLAs, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, is expected in May. An adverse decision against the MLAs may lead to a situation where the BJP-Sena government may need additional support, which is where Ajit Pawar and his loyal MLAs may come into play.
Both Sharad Pawar and his daughter and Supriya Sule said there was “no truth” in the speculation surrounding Ajit Pawar.
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“There is no truth in it (defection of Ajit)… The discussion in the media (about Ajit Pawar) is not part of the NCP’s agenda. All party leaders are focusing on strengthening the NCP. Ajit Pawar has not convened any meeting,” Sharad Pawar told reporters in Pune.
Later, Ajit Pawar also came out to put an end to the “speculation” that he was set to switch sides and join the BJP-Sena government. He said he will continue working for the party till his last breath and clarified that there was no truth in reports that he would join the saffron party.
“For no reason, misinformation is being spread about me. This is baseless and there is no truth in the reports about me. There is no substance in the news that is being spread about me and my colleagues. It is being done intentionally by some people,” he said.
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“We MLAs will remain in the NCP and will work under the leadership of Sharad Pawar saheb,” he said.
Ajit Pawar also appealed to NCP workers to not get confused over the “unsubstantiated” news reports about him. Reports about 40 NCP MLAs signing a letter of support for him are false, he said, asking party workers to continue working to strengthen the party. “If we have to take any step, we will declare it openly. There is no need to hide,” he said.
On the speculation that some MLAs met him at Vidhan Bhavan to carve out a “rebellion strategy”, he said, “MLAs come and meet me for routine work. They always come. But today this is being projected for the wrong reasons. I want to tell my workers that there is no truth in this. There is no reason to get confused.”
Earlier, Sena leader Raut said the top MVA leaders, including Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule, held a conference call in the morning to discuss the issue.
“The defection rumour is baseless…These rumours are being spread to break the MVA but this will not happen. There is a cordial relationship between Uddhavji and Ajit Pawarji. People should not spread such rumours about Ajit Pawar unless he himself says something,” Raut said.
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The BJP remained tight-lipped about the development, but state party president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said there was no proposal from Ajit Pawar.
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