From Nashik, Sharad Pawar began his statewide campaign to win over voters for his party today. When Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs took the oath of office in the Eknath Shinde administration on July 2, Maharashtra politics saw a new development as the Nationalist Congress Party split into two.
Sharad Pawar, the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, plans to visit all of the state’s constituencies as part of a campaign to rebuild his party from the bottom up, paying particular attention to those where NCP MLAs have joined the coalition administration. According to reports, he would go to Nashik, Pune, Solapur, and areas of Vidarbha, which are the electoral districts of renegade NCP MLAs Chagan Bhujbal, Dhananjay Mundem, and others.
Sharad Pawar brought up Ajit Pawar’s comment that he should resign due to his age at the campaign kickoff.
Ajit Pawar addressed the media a few days before, “You painted me in front of everyone as a villain. I still have a great deal of respect for Sharad Pawar.But you say that IAS officials retire at age 60, while BJP leaders retire at age 75 from politics. You may see LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi as examples of how this enables the next generation to succeed.
Sharad Pawar responded by quoting Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s well-known saying, “Na tired hu, na retired hu.” Who are they to advise me to resign, Pawar continued? I am still able to work.
According to reports, senior NCP leader Praful Patel discussed Ajit Pawar being overwhelmingly elected as the party president 30 days before his major decision to join the coalition government took place.
In a statement to the media, Patel stated: “The decisions taken by the Sharad Pawar group, expelling or disqualifying leaders of the Ajit Pawar faction, were illegal and not applicable.”
Ajit Pawar, who considers his group the true NCP, has reportedly claimed the name and emblem of the NCP from the Election Commission. He now has the backing of 32 MLAs, while Sharad Pawar has 14 on his side. Ajit Pawar would require 36 MLAs, which would be two-thirds of the 53 NCP lawmakers, before the election commission would entertain the claim.
Sharad Pawar reportedly opposed to Ajit Pawar’s claim to the party emblem and wrote to the electoral authority, according to sources. According to reports, he will be seeking legal counsel and talking with his party’s officials about their future course of action.
What is going on with the various Shiv Sena factions?
Ajit Pawar, the state’s newly appointed deputy chief minister, recently expressed his desire to take over as chief minister. This sparked conflict in Maharashtra’s political circles, particularly with the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde MLAs, who are reportedly not happy with the NCP’s inclusion in the government. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reportedly met in the previous two days to talk about this matter.
According to reports, Fadnavis told the media that after Ajit Pawar joined the Maharashtra government coalition, the cabinet will be expanded. He also reportedly said, “The BJP does not break other parties, but there will be no opposition to those who believe in Modi’s leadership and want to come along.”
Reports further said that Aaditya Thackeray, the head of the Shiv Sena (UBT), informed the reporters, “I have heard that Eknath Shinde has been asked to resign and there might be some change in the government.”
Sanjay Raut, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), reportedly said, “Since Ajit Pawar and other NCP leaders joined the government, 17-18 MLAs from the Shinde camp have contacted us.” He also told the media that close to 20 MLAs from the Eknath Shinde faction had gotten in touch with them.
According to reports, Eknath Shinde said, “Our government currently consists of three parties, and our MLA strength is above 200. The power of our government is only increasing. PM Modi and Amit Shah are on our side.
