Breaking away his silence on Sharad Pawar taking back his his resignation as Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief, Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Ajit Pawar on Friday stated that Sharad Pawar's decision to stay as NCP president will energise party workers and boost Maha Vikas Aghadi, news agency PTI reported.
Earlier today, NCP leader Ajit Pawar did not attend the press conference at YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai even though he was present at the NCP committee meeting in the morning that unanimously rejected Sharad Pawar's decision to step down.
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Senior political leader Sharad Pawar on Friday denied that his nephew Ajit Pawar was dissatisfied with him or preparing to leave the party after failing to attend the news conference. "Everyone can't be present in one press conference. Some of the people are here and some others are not. But this morning, senior leaders of the party, took a decision unanimously and made me aware of it. Everyone expressed their sentiments through that decision. So, raising a question as to who is present here and who isn't or looking for meaning into this, is not correct," Sharad Pawar said.
Sharad Pawar also denied any truth to the claims that any NCP leaders were about to switch to rival parties.
"If anyone wants to go, no one can stop anyone. However, there's no truth that people in our party want to go out," he said.
Sharad Pawar stated that his nephew Ajit Pawar, a former Maharashtra deputy chief minister, was the sole NCP leader who knew he was going to retire and hence backed his choice. Ajit Pawar, he maintained, was not furious with him or the party.
Pawar, who created the NCP in 1999 after splitting from the Congress, startled his party on Tuesday by announcing his decision to retire as president, saying he wanted to make room for new leadership.
(With Agencies Inputs)