Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday indicated there was no possibility of a reconciliation with nephew Ajit Pawar and other senior leaders of his party who had rebelled against him, and joined hands with the BJP-led government last year.
They are now claiming to be the “real” NCP.
“We do not have any thoughts within the party about those who took such a decision. Especially those who are responsible for taking such a decision, our stand about them is clear,” Pawar said.
In July last year, Ajit Pawar split the NCP, taking a majority of MLAs to the ruling government, led by the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Following the split, Ajit Pawar loyalists hurled allegations of mismanagement, nepotism and authoritarianism against senior Pawar.
The Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP was, however, very restrained, prompting speculation that the party was trying to keep the door open for rebels to return.
Ajit Pawar had orchestrated a similar rebellion in 2019, when he led newly-elected NCP MLAs to join hands with the BJP to form a government after the Assembly elections.
At that time, his uncle Sharad Pawar had firmed up a new coalition with the Congress and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, called the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the deputy chief minister with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister. The rebellion was short lived as a majority of MLAs returned to the Sharad Pawar fold and Ajit Pawar resigned within 72 hours. This led to the fall of the BJP government.
Sharad Pawar took him back and made him the deputy chief minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government.
‘Better to ignore age taunts by Ajit Pawar’
Ever since his rebellion, Ajit Pawar has been indirectly criticising his 84-year-old uncle for refusing to retire from politics despite his age.
Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said, “If he thinks it is appropriate to talk about my age, then I have nothing to say about it… There is no reason to take this criticism seriously, and it is better to ignore the comments.”
The senior Pawar further said he has already clarified he will not contest elections once his current Rajya Sabha term is over in 2026.
“Till the time my term is over, it is my duty to fight for the rights of the people, work for them and the party. After my term ends, I will not contest. I have said this multiple times in the public domain,” he said.
Sharad Pawar had first announced his intention to retire from electoral politics after his term ended, and stepped down as the NCP chief immediately in May last year when the party was still undivided.
The announcement was followed by massive protests by party workers across Maharashtra, and while all senior leaders urged Sharad Pawar to take back his decision, Ajit Pawar was the only one who publicly supported it.
Sharad Pawar, however, stayed on but named Praful Patel and his daughter Supriya Sule as working presidents, also giving the latter the electoral responsibility for Maharashtra. Less than a month later, Ajit Pawar rebelled against the party, and Patel joined his camp. (EOM)
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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