Ajit Pawar claims he is NCP national president as Sharad Pawar asserts party ‘has not split’; Sena UBT calls it shameful

Kolhapur: Ajit Pawar claimed that he was the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)’s national president, two days after NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that he remains the party’s national president while Jayant Patil is the state president, also reiterating that the party “has not split”, referring to the breakaway faction.

“My colleagues have appointed me and that is why I am…,” Ajit Pawar told reporters in Pune today, reports The Indian Express.

Ajit Pawar’s response comes after Sunil Tatkare, president of the breakaway NCP faction said that the Election Commission has been informed that Ajit Pawar was NCP’s national president.

Reacting strongly to Ajit Pawar’s statement, Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena said that there cannot be anything more shocking and shameful than claiming ownership of a party he never built.

Sharad Pawar earlier, said that though some MLAs have quit the party, they don’t constitute a political unit and the party has not split. “Why give them importance by taking their names? People are upset with those who have gone with the BJP. I can see a change coming in Maharashtra and the people will show the BJP its real place,” declared Pawar.

Touching on the upcoming third meeting of the grand opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A., Pawar said that it would review the preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and chart out programmes for joint electioneering in different parts of the country.

Launching a strong attack on the BJP, he said they have unleashed central probe agencies against the Opposition parties and their leaders.

“I shall continue to fight against such fascist forces… There has been misuse of central investigating agencies (CBI, ED and I-T). Those who couldn’t face them have gone with them,” he said.

Pawar also revealed how NCP leaders like Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh, and Shiv Sena (UBT)’s MP Sanjay Raut were threatened with the ED-CBI and asked to join the BJP.

“They displayed courage and opposed them… So they ended up in jail. They (Malik, Deshmukh, Raut) deserve to be saluted,” said Pawar.

Without taking names, he rued how several of his former associates – who had no guts to face the probe agencies – jumped ship to the ruling side and freed themselves from all the problems.

With agency inputs

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