The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) officially denied BJP MP Narayan Rane’s claim to a local Marathi TV news channel here on Friday that NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar may walk out of the Congress-backed Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and join hands with the BJP-backed Mahayuti after the Maharashtra assembly election results are declared.

The NCP (SP) official spokesperson, Clyde Crasto, based in Mumbai, flatly denied any such possibility and told The Statesman on Friday that, “Narayan Rane is known to make silly statements and nobody takes him seriously. Politicians who oppose the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and are not relevant in politics any more know one thing for sure. They know that if they make some statement about Sharad Pawar, they will certainly get some free publicity. So Narayan Rane is merely using Sharad Pawar’s name to get free publicity for himself and stay in the news”.

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Earlier on Friday, former Maharashtra chief minister and former union cabinet minister Narayan Rane, who is a BJP MP representing the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency, had made a sensational claim to a local TV news channel here that NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar may quit the Congress-backed MVA and join hands with the BJP-backed Mahayuti after the Maharashtra assembly election results are declared.

“Sharad Pawar may change his track after the assembly election results. Sharad Pawar will not stay with Uddhav Thackeray and Congress. Sharad Pawar can join hands with the Mahayuti in the interest of the state and to benefit his party’s MLAs. Uddhav’s party is not going to get more than 10 to 12 seats in the Maharashtra assembly election. Therefore, under no circumstances will any Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government ever be formed in the state and Uddhav Thackeray will never be able to become the Chief Minister of Maharashtra again,” BJP leader Narayan Rane told a local Marathi TV news channel.

BJP leader Narayan Rane also said, “It will be difficult for Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray to walk on the streets after the Maharashtra assembly election results. Sanjay Raut waited for the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Bal Thackeray) to revive but the party is no longer dominant like before,” Rane said.

However, the NCP (SP)’s official denial of any possibility of its chief Sharad Pawar joining hands with the BJP after Maharashtra election results are declared on Saturday, November 23, has not been able to put political speculation to rest.

According to a political observer who requested anonymity, “Nothing is impossible in politics. It is difficult to know the precise reason behind why BJP’s Narayan Rane chose to issue this statement just a day before election results are declared. However, the clue might lie in the Adani factor”.

When asked to elaborate, he said, “The Congress has been openly opposing Adani and his Dharavi redevelopment plan. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Bal Thackeray) too has been opposing it, despite the fact that the project was awarded to Adani by Uddhav when he was in power. Yet, it is well known that Sharad Pawar has been close to Adani and Pawar may not share the view of the Congress or Shiv Sena (Uddhav) regarding Adani. However, it is simply too early to know if the Adani factor could take Sharad Pawar to the BJP-backed Mahayuti which is known to be pro-Adani. In any case, there would be hard bargaining and Adani would happily work with whichever party that comes to power”.