NEW DELHI: NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar targeted several Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party leaders on Thursday for splitting the party for power, describing it as an inappropriate. Among those addressed was minister Dilip Walse Patil.
Pawar discussed the issue with party workers and supporters of Devdatta Nikam, who is running against current MLA Walse Patil in Ambegaon, Pune district. He highlighted the party’s unity in the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, where the NCP secured 54 seats and formed the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
Pawar said, “The party came to power due to that success because of which they became ministers. But some of our colleagues did not remember this. Some of our colleagues took away 44 of the 54 MLAs and joined the other side and created a wrong picture in the state.”
He specifically referred to the split within the NCP in 2023 when Ajit Pawar and other MLAs joined the BJP and Shiv Sena, becoming part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance. Ajit Pawar later secured the party name and symbol from the Election Commission.
Pawar said, “They got the power they desired. It is not that they had not got the power earlier but the move to break the party to obtain power was not appropriate.”
He expressed disappointment with MLA Walse Patil for participating in the decision to break away from the party, emphasising that the people of Ambegaon were not in favor of such a move.
Pawar reminisced about his long association with Walse Patil’s father and his efforts to mentor the current minister. He also mentioned his ongoing work at the national level and how some state leaders whom he trusted took advantage of their positions.
Concluding, Pawar urged NCP (SP) workers and Nikam’s supporters to back him in the upcoming assembly elections and ensure his victory.
‘Entire Pawar family is together on Diwali’
Meanwhile, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule shared on Thursday that the Pawar family is united for Diwali and has upheld the tradition of celebrating the festival together in Baramati since childhood. “Since childhood, we have always come to Baramati for Diwali celebration. The entire Pawar family is together on Diwali,” Sule said.
Baramati, the family’s stronghold in Maharashtra, is set to witness an internal electoral rivalry, with NCP leader Ajit Pawar going up against his nephew Yugendra Pawar, the son of his younger brother Shrinivas Pawar, in an upcoming contest.