Two NCP MLAs come out in support of Ajit even as NCP chief begins damage control exercise

Mumbai: With speculations going on about senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar moving out of his party to join hands with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two MLAs from the Ajit camp came out openly in support of him. Amid this, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar launched a damage-control exercise.

On one hand, he has communicated with the allies in the MVA so that no leader of the coalition should be projected before the elections while on the other, close aides of the NCP chief have started talking to Ajit’s camp.

Confirming the speculations over senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar wanting to join hands with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two MLAs from the Ajit camp came out openly in support of the leader even as NCP chief Sharad Pawar launched the damage control exercise.

In an indication that Ajit camp has now started getting aggressive, NCP MLAs Anna Bansode (MLA from Pimpri in Pune district) and Manikrao Kokate (Sinnar, Nashik)--both considered close to Ajit--said that they will remain loyal to him no matter what.

Speaking of a Marathi news channel TV9 Marathi, Bansode said in Pimpri-Chinchwad: “I had extended full support to Ajit Pawar even in November 2019 when he tried to form a government with the BJP incumbent chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. I am still loyal to him and will stand by him in whatever decision he may take in the future.”

Kokate said, “There is not a single leader in Maharashtra assembly except Ajit Pawar who can run the government efficiently. If Pawar joins hands with the BJP, most of the NCP MLAs will go with him.”

He also clarified, “No decision has been taken yet thus it is wrong to make any comment as of now and they are with the party.”

Going a step ahead, Bansode declared that Ajit called for a meeting of MLAs on Tuesday in Mumbai and he is going to attend it.

However, less than an hour after his statement, Ajit Pawar in a statement clarified that he has not called any meeting of MLAs or party office bearers on Tuesday. He also clarified that he was in Mumbai and did not schedule any program for Monday as he was at MGM Hospital till early Monday morning where attendees of Maharashtra Bhushan Award were admitted after suffering from sunstroke. The clarification was in response to rumours that Ajit has again gone incommunicado after he cancelled all his programs scheduled for Monday. For most of the day, Ajit remained at his official residence, Devgiri at Malabar Hill, it is claimed.

Meanwhile, close aides of the NCP chief launched a damage control exercise.

Hours after remarks by Bansode and Kokate, another NCP MLA Sunil Bhusara (from Vikramgad, Palghar) contradicted his colleagues saying that all in the party are standing with Sharad Pawar.

“All this going on about Ajit Pawar is nothing but rumours. I do not see this happening. He is not going anywhere. All the decisions are being taken by our Pawar saheb only. All the MLAs are with the party,” Bhusara said, adding, “Even if Ajit Pawar forges an alliance with BJP, we will remain loyal to NCP.”

Senior leaders including state unit chief Jayant Patil and former home minister Dilip Walse-Patil got in touch with MLAs inclined towards Ajit advising them not to take any steps without senior Pawar’s nod. They asked the MLAs to seriously consider the consequences if Pawar hits the ground and the tide turns against the ruling alliance, said the NCP insiders. MLAs from Ajit camp are also being told that it would be difficult for them to counter Pawar during the poll campaign. “What are they going to say against the NCP chief who made them MLAs and kept the party in power for so many years? He is still the most powerful Maratha leader in the state and has influence in western Maharashtra and other parts of the state. All this has been conveyed to them so that they should think twice before taking any decision,” said another NCP insider.

Instead, they were advised to convince Pawar to take the decision they wanted. This will withhold any split in the party and they also will not have to go through the struggle Shinde and his MLAs are facing, he added.

Meanwhile, party sources also said that Pawar apprised Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray of the reason behind Ajit Pawar’s plan to split NCP and also opined that the MVA partners should not project anybody as the coalition’s leader.

Ajit was miffed after Thackeray was projected as the leader of Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) which means that he would be considered for the chief minister position if MVA wins the assembly elections scheduled in 2024. This triggered the speculations about Ajit moving out of NCP.

It grew stronger after the enforcement directorate decided to drop Ajit and his wife Sunetra’s name from the chargesheet in the alleged Maharashtra State Cooperative (MSC) Bank scam.

“On April 11, when Thackeray and his MP Sanjay Raut called him on at his residence, he told them everything about Ajit. He also sought to know from Thackeray whether he is seriously considering himself as CM contender from MVA if a situation arises, said an NCP insider, wishing to remain anonymous. Pawar told Thackeray that the MVA should not project any leader at this juncture.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday also indicated that the ruling BJP is trying to split other opposition parties like they did with them. He, however, chose not to take any specific name.

“Recently, BJP national president JP Nadda said that all the parties will be eliminated and only BJP will remain. This danger is for all the parties. They (BJP) attacked us through the means of betrayal and are now doing the same with other parties,” Thackeray said after his meeting with Congress general secretary KC Venugopal at his residence.

Thackeray was referring to Nadda’s statement he made while addressing a party meeting in Patna on July 31, last year in which he had asserted that no party could fight against the BJP at the national level. He had further claimed that all other political parties barring the BJP will be destroyed.