'Split Is Real': Congress Leader Prithviraj Chavan Says 'Sharad Pawar May Have Sidelined People For Daughter'

Congress Leader Prithviraj Chavan said the split in the NCP is real as it's personal and out of bitterness towards how Sharad Pawar managed the party.

Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Ajit Pawar (Left To Right)

Source : Getty/PTI

As the crisis in the Nationalist Congress Party intensifies and Ajit Pawar staked claim on the party's name and symbol, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan called the split real and said it is the outcome of bitterness that was there for years, adding that there might have been a few faults with the way Sharad Pawar managed the party and he may have sidelined people to 'push forward his daughter'

"This shows the bitterness that was setting in for years. Maybe there were a few faults in Pawar Saheb's management of the party. Maybe he sidelined people to push forward his daughter...but this family dispute is affecting the state's politics. So, I said that the split is real and there is bitterness," he said. 

On Wednesday, NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal refuted claims which said many leaders joined the BJP in fear of legal cases and said that there were several leaders who joined the faction without any cases against them, adding that they were ready to go back if party chief Sharad Pawar was ready to sideline 'close aides out to finish the party'.

 

"We are being accused of coming here (with Ajit Pawar) for fear of legal cases. This is not correct. Dhananjay Munde, Dilip Walse Patil and Ramraje Nimbalkar have no cases against them. There are several other people who have no cases against them but are still here. We are here only because there are some close aides around you Saheb (Sharad Pawar), they are out to finish the party. We are ready to come back to you once you sideline them. We will come back to you then," he said.

To this, Sharad Pawar responded by saying if someone had any grouse, they should have discussed about it within the party. "Ajit Pawar should have spoken to me if he had any problems. If he had something on his mind he could have approached me. No democratic process can run without communication," the senior Pawar said.