Maharashtra: Days After Congress's 'Cabinet Berth Offer' Claim, Sharad Pawar Says Dy CM Ajit Is NCP Leader

In a twist to the NCP rebellion plot, Sharad Pawar has claimed that there is no split in NCP and that Ajit Pawar is still the party's leader.

There seems to be no end to the twists and turns in the Maharashtra political arena. The Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance received a jolt when senior NCP leader Sharad Pawar announced that Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar was still a leader of the party. Pawar also claimed that there was no split in the NCP. The senior Pawar comment comes just over a week after the Congress claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had offered Ajit Pawar the post of Chief Minister on the condition that secure NCP chief Sharad Pawar's support to the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction)-BJP alliance. 

"There is no conflict that he [Ajit Pawar] is our leader. There is no split in NCP. How does a split happen in a party? It happens when a big group separates from the party at the national level. But there is no such situation in NCP today. Yes, some leaders took a different stance, but this can't be called a split. They can do so in a democracy," Sharad Pawar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Previously, Prithviraj Chavan, former Chief Minister and senior leader of the Congress, said the BJP intended to lure Sharad Pawar away from the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition with an offer of a plum Union Cabinet berth. This came after a "secret" meeting of the Pawars in Mumbai. The context behind the secret meeting between the Pawar family and a businessman's bungalow, as mentioned by Chavan, revolved around this proposition.

Chavan asserted that the senior Pawar had been extended the opportunity to head the Ministry of Agriculture and assume the position of Chairman of the NITI Aayog. Furthermore, Chavan indicated that Sharad Pawar's daughter, Supriya Sule, and NCP leader Jayant Patil, both present at the aforementioned meeting, had also been presented with potential central Cabinet roles. Importantly, Chavan underscored that Sharad Pawar had not taken up the BJP's offer.

However, the Shiv Sena (a Maha Vikas Aghadi partner) reacted with displeasure to the Pawars' meeting but later said that Sharad Pawar won't make the same "mistake" as his nephew Ajit Pawar of allying with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).