Mumbai:

In signs of rumblings within the ruling coalition in Maharashtra months before state polls, the NCP faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has condemned the collapse of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji and given the call for a silent protest to demand action against those responsible.

“It is very painful and heart-wrenching that the statue of the great Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj erected at the Rajkot fort in Malvan has crashed. It is shocking that this statue fell in just eight months (after it was inaugurated),” state NCP president Sunil Tatkare has said in a statement.

“It cannot be denied that an unforgivable mistake was made. In order to protest this tragedy and to take precautions to prevent such accidents from happening in the future, the Nationalist Congress Party has organized a rally across the state on Thursday, dt. On 29 August 2024 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, we will hold a silent protest in front of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue. We will demand that strict action be taken against whoever is guilty in this case,” the statement added.

The NCP demanded that the government work round the clock and build a new statue at Rajkot Fort to honour Shivaji Maharaj.

The 35-foot statue of the 17th century ruler was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 4.

The statue’s collapse on Monday sparked a massive political row, with the Opposition alliance of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) demanding Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s resignation. A complaint by the Public Works Department alleged that construction of the statue was not up to the mark and nuts and bolts used in the structure were rusted. A case has been registered against two people involved in the project — contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil.

The decision of Ajit Pawar’s NCP to hold a silent protest against the government he is part of needs to seen against the backdrop of the current political landscape in Maharashtra. There has been a sea of change in the state’s political equations between last election and this one. The Shiv Sena has split into the factions led by Chief Minister Eknath and Uddhav Thackeray, and the NCP into factions led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar.

In the recently held Lok Sabha election, the Opposition alliance put up a stellar show, winning 30 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It will now be looking to repeat the strong performance in the state polls. The BJP-led ruling alliance, on the other hand, will go all out to make a comeback.

Against the backdrop, Ajit Pawar’s decision to call a protest is politically significant. His faction of the NCP won just one seat in the Lok Sabha election and lost several leaders to the Sharad Pawar faction after the poll results. He also admitted that fielding his wife Sunetra against his cousin and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule was a “mistake”. The developments have sparked buzz on whether the junior Pawar is considering returning to uncle Sharad Pawar’s camp after a string of setbacks. Ajit Pawar has, however, said he is firmly with the NDA and has expressed confidence that the bloc will form the government in Maharashtra again.