Sharad Pawar says no split in NCP

Pune: Sharad Pawar on Friday said that there is a no split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and some leaders have taken a different stand. “If some leaders take a different political stand, it cannot be called a split,” the veteran leader told reporters at his hometown Baramati in Pune district in the morning before leaving for Kolhapur to address a rally

The day before, NCP Baramati MP Supriya Sule said in Pune, “Ajit Pawar is our leader. Though there are differences, we will keep our family united.”

When asked about Sule’s statement, Pawar said in support, “It is true what Supriya said. There is no split in the party. Only thing is that some people have taken a different stand.”

Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Maharashtra government led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena faction of Eknath Shinde on July 2, creating a split in the Sharad Pawar-founded party.

On a recent survey that showed the Maha Vikas Aghadi, including Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and Sharad Pawar-led NCP getting maximum Lok Sabha seats in the state in next year’s elections, Pawar said, “I do not know about the survey and how many people they spoke to, but when we are meeting with different people and organisations, we are expecting that the MVA would get good support. The political situation at the Centre will also change.”

Pawar said the Centre’s decision to impose 40 per cent export duty on onions is against the farmers’ welfare.

Meanwhile, a senior NCP leader on condition of anonymity, said, “The statements by the Pawars have left us confused. Many are thinking that it was all pre-planned.”