Another NCP Legislator Likely to Join Sharad Pawar Faction

Mumbai: NCP chief Ajit Pawar, who is already reeling under the drubbing received in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, is likely to receive yet another jolt as one of his supporter MLAs Baban Shinde met NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar on Sunday triggering speculations of him switching sides.

Baban Shinde, the MLA from Madha in Solapur district, met the senior Pawar at Modi Baug in Pune. He was accompanied by his son Ranjitsinh Shinde. While there was no confirmation of what transpired at the meeting, the visit has raised the possibility of a split in the Shinde family ahead of upcoming Vidhan Sabha polls in Maharashtra.

Just a few days ago, Baban Shinde’s brother Ramesh Shinde had met Sharad Pawar’s daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule in New Delhi.

According to political sources, while Baban Shinde is keen on fielding his son Ranjitsinh from Madha in the Vidhan Sabha polls, Ramesh Shinde has been preparing to field his son Dhanraj from the same constituency.

However, Chhagan Bhujbal, senior leader from the Ajit Pawar faction, has ruled out the likelihood of Baban Shinde and his son joining the Sharad Pawar camp. “No one will make a ghar-wapsi. People meet for personal work. Even Sharad Pawar meets leaders of various parties for work,” he said.

Ever since the inception of the NCP, Baban Shinde had supported Sharad Pawar. However, after the split in the NCP last year, he had sided with Ajit Pawar, who joined hands with the BJP.

In the Lok Sabha polls too, Sharad Pawar’s move to nominate Dhairyasheel Mohite-Patil from the Madha seat had paid dividends as he had defeated BJP’s Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar. Mohite Patil family, which had earlier supported Sharad Pawar, had later joined the BJP.