Ajit Pawar, the chief of the Nationalist Congress Party, said Tuesday that there was “no truth” in the allegations that he was planning to switch parties. “All of these rumors are false,” the former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra told reporters. “I haven’t gotten any signatures from MLAs.” These rumors must be put to an immediate end.
Ajit Pawar also criticized the media for spreading such reports and said they had created confusion within the NCP. The NCP had joined hands with former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction and the Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government that ruled Maharashtra until a BJP-backed revolt led by Sena faction leader Eknath Shinde, who was later elected CM.
Hours before Ajit Pawar’s firm rejection of (controversially) joining the BJP, his uncle and NCP leader Sharad Pawar denied rumors to that effect, claiming that no meeting of the party’s MLAs had been called. Veteran politician Sharad Pawar, who is credited with forming the alliance between the Congress, his party, and the then-unified Sena, attacked the media over allegations that Ajit Pawar wanted to join the BJP. “None of these discussions are important. The reports are meaningless… To strengthen the party, all our people are working together. Nobody is considering anything else.
Ajit Pawar on Monday denied that he had called a meeting of NCP lawmakers; however, a New Indian Express report, which Hindustan Times could not independently confirm, claimed that the nephew had gathered the support of 40 of the party’s 53 MLAs to quit the Maha Vikas Aghadi and work with the BJP to strengthen the state government.
Ajit Pawar left his uncle and the MVA in 2019 to join the BJP and form the Maharashtra government, which lasted less than three days. At that time, he was also appointed deputy chief minister. This uprising was short-lived, as Sharad Pawar was confirmed by some NCP lawmakers whose support the BJP needed to win a majority.