Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday rubbished all speculation that his nephew, Ajit Pawar would trigger a fresh ‘political earthquake’ by joining hands with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“There’s no truth in the talks about Ajit Pawar… He has not called any (MLAs) meetings today… We are all working unitedly to strengthen the NCP,” Pawar said when besieged by mediapersons.
“What’s in your mind is not in our thoughts,” added Pawar for added effect, amid unconfirmed reports claiming that Ajit Pawar commands the support of at least 40 NCP MLAs.
Earlier in the day, the Leader of Opposition (Assembly) Ajit Pawar also scotched all the rumours and so-called discussions as ‘false’, while his cousin and MP Supriya Sule declined to speak on the issue.
Other senior party leaders have also repeatedly scoffed at the intense speculation over the past few days on the issue — that Ajit Pawar would do to the NCP what ‘Eknath Shinde’ did to the Shiv Sena in June 2022 — as some NCP legislators have come out openly in support of him (Ajit Pawar).
Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders like Congress state President Nana Patole and Shiv Sena (UBT) Leader of Opposition (Council) Ambadas Danve have also expressed full faith that Ajit Pawar may not resort to any such political adventures at this juncture.
Some leaders have pointed fingers at the BJP accusing it of deliberately attempting to divide the Opposition and trying to divert attention from its failures on various fronts.