Ajit Pawar tight-lipped on Sharad Pawar's allegations of misleading MLAs to join BJP

Mumbai: Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Tuesday refused to comment on the claims made in party chief Sharad Pawar’s autobiography that he misused his uncle’s name to misguide MLAs to join the BJP government in 2019. The veteran politician has said that he was then shocked by Ajit’s swearing-in with Devendra Fadnavis.

“I was shocked when I got a call on November 23, 2019, around 6.30 am that Ajit and a few NCP MLAs were at Raj Bhavan and Ajit was taking oath with Fadnavis,” Pawar said in the second part of his memoir ‘Lok Majhe Sangti.’

“When I made calls to a few MLAs who were at Raj Bhavan, I got to know that only 10 MLAs have reached there and one of them told me that it is happening because I support this. But this was a plan for the central BJP to fail the plan of MVA (Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi). I called Uddhav Thackeray immediately and told him that whatever Ajit has done is wrong and NCP and I don't support that. My name was used to take NCP MLAs to Raj Bhavan. I asked him to join me in the press conference at 11 am,” Pawar wrote.

When asked about it, Ajit Pawar said that he does not want to talk on the matter . “I am not aware of anything as I have not read the book yet. I will speak in detail only after reading the book,” he said.

Calling Ajit 'a sentimental person' in his book, the Pawar Senior said the former might have taken the decision (to join hands with the BJP) in a heat of moment. He said, "During the formation of MVA government, talks with the Congress were not held in a transparent manner. Due to stubborn approach of the Congress leaders, problems were arising every day. Hence it felt that it was difficult to stay together and there is no point in carrying on with the talks. Ajit is sentimental person and he might taken the decision in the heat of moment," Pawar said.

In 2019, in one of the biggest political surprises, then Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari lifted central rule and sworn in Fadnavis as chief minister and Ajit Pawar as deputy CM in an early morning ceremony on November 23, 2019. But the government collapsed in just three days as Ajit could not persuade enough MLAs to defect with him. Later, he returned to the NCP fold and Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as chief minister with the backing of the NCP and Congress.

Pawar, in his autobiography, also slammed Thackeray saying the latter failed to quell the discontent within his own party and resigned as Maharashtra chief minister without putting up a fight.

"The Sena leadership fell short in quelling this outburst of discontent. As Uddhav resigned without putting up a fight (after Eknath Shinde and other Sena MLAs rebelled against him in June 2022), the MVA's stint in power came to an end," the veteran politician wrote.

The MVA was not just an alliance for power but a coming together of the opposition against the BJP. The alliance could have challenged the BJP at the national level. We all knew that there will be desperate attempts to break this alliance. The government collapsed because Uddhav resigned without giving a fight, he said.

Pawar also alleged that the BJP had plotted to eliminate then ally Shiv Sena in the 2019 Maharashtra election as it was convinced that was necessary for its own growth in the state, he claimed.

"The BJP rubbed salt on the Sena's wounds by merging Narayan Rane's Swabhiman Party with it. Rane is seen as a traitor by the Shiv Sena. The BJP also fielded and supported rebel candidates in nearly 50 constituencies against the Shiv Sena. It was an attempt to damage the Sena by decreasing their numbers to have an undisputed claim on power," Pawar wrote.