Mumbai:

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has made another admission of his “mistake” in splitting the party and family — this time to stop a party leader’s daughter from crossing over to his uncle’s camp and contesting against her father.

State minister Dharmarao Baba Atram’s daughter Bhagyashree is apparently ready to join the Sharad Pawar faction and contest from Aheri against Atram.

At a public gathering in Gadchiroli today, Ajit Pawar said, “I want to tell you that even now, do not make this mistake. Stay with your father. No one can love his daughter as much as a father does. By doing this, you will create a rift in your own house”.

That course of action, he said, “is not right” — because “this is not acceptable to the society”.

“We have also gained experience in this context, and I have now understood my mistake and I accept it,” he added.

Pawar Junior, who split his uncle Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party and joined hands with the  BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena last year, has made multiple comments about his “mistake” since the Lok Sabha election.

His party had got a drubbing — with the voters staunchly backing Sharad Pawar.

Not only did his wife Sunetra Pawar lost the contest with his cousin Supriya Sule from Baramati, his faction of the party managed to score only one seat of the four he contested.

Last month, Mr Pawar had had conceded that it was a mistake to field his wife against his sister.

One should not allow politics to enter home, Mr Pawar had told a Marathi news channel.

“I love all my sisters. One shouldn’t allow politics to enter homes. I made a mistake in fielding Sunetra against my sister. This shouldn’t have happened. But the parliamentary board (of NCP) made a decision. Now I feel it was wrong,” Ajit Pawar had said, raising speculation ofa possible rapprochement.

Gadchiroli:

Noting that society doesn’t like rifts in families, NCP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said he had already admitted his mistake, an apparent reference to the electoral contest between his wife Sunetra and cousin Supriya Sule in recent Lok Sabha polls.

Notably, this is the second time in less than a month that Mr Pawar publicly admitted that he had made a mistake by fielding his wife against Sule and noted politics shouldn’t enter the home.

The “admission” of mistake came against the backdrop of poor performance by the NCP, one of the constituents of the Mahayuti alliance, in its maiden general elections after the split in the undivided party.

Addressing the Jansamman rally organised by NCP in Gadchiroli city on Friday, Mr Pawar tried to discourage party leader and state minister Dharmarao Baba Aatram’s daughter Bhagyashri from crossing over to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).

Speculation is going around about a potential contest between Bhagyashri and her father in the upcoming assembly elections.

“Nobody loves a daughter more than her father. Despite giving her away in marriage in Belgaum, he (Aatram) stood by her in Gadchiroli and made her the president of Zilla Parishad. Now you (Bhagyashri) are set to fight against your own father. Is this right?” he asked the gathering.

“You should support your father and help him win because only he has the capacity and determination to develop the region. The society never accepts breaking one’s own family,” Mr Pawar said.

This is like breaking the family, he said referring to the rift between Bhagyashri and her father over her political move.

“Society doesn’t like this. I have experienced the same and accepted my mistake,” Mr Pawar said.

The NCP led by Ajit Pawar suffered a severe drubbing in Lok Sabha polls losing three of the four constituencies, including Baramati, it had contested. In contrast, the Sharad Pawar-led faction won 8 out of 10 seats.

Aatram, an MLA from Aheri in Gadchiroli district, sided with Ajit Pawar.

“Aatram’s daughter learnt politics from the father. Atram was the “vastad” (master) in politics who always kept one move close to his chest and played it at the appropriate time. Like a vastad, Aatram too doesn’t teach everything to his pupil,” Mr Pawar quipped

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Fissures have emerged in Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti over the ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’ with a Shiv Sena minister raising objection against ally NCP and its president Ajit Pawar for “omitting” Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s name from advertisements and promotional material of the scheme.

Speaking to reporters here on Friday, state Excise Minister Shambhuraj Desai, who belongs to the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Shinde, expressed disappointment over Deputy Chief Minister Pawar virtually “hijacking” the ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin’ scheme, which offers a financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per month to eligible women in the state.

He said not using the full name of the scheme during his (Mr Pawar’s) public outreach programmes was not as per protocol.

“The scheme has ‘Chief Minister’ in its name, and removing it from the scheme is inappropriate. It should not have been done,” Mr Desai alleged.

“It is a state government scheme and he (Mr Pawar) should have taken everyone along,” the Excise Minister said.

Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections likely to be held in November, Ajit Pawar, who is also the state Finance Minister, last month launched his party’s ‘Jan Sanman Yatra’, a public outreach programme. Its narrative is focused on the benefits of the financial assistance provided under the Ladki Bahin and other schemes.

The advertisements and other promotional material used during the campaign, the NCP is seen mentioning the name of the scheme as just ‘Majhi Ladki Bahin’ instead of the full name ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin’ scheme.

The Ajit Pawar camp has also released two videos in which the beneficiaries were shown thanking Ajit Pawar for the scheme.

The Ladki Bahin scheme was inspired by the Ladli Behana scheme launched in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh ahead of the assembly polls in that state.

The Ladki Bahin scheme was formally launched last month. Speaking during rallies, CM Shinde has promised that if the Mahayuti is elected to power again, it would double the amount of the scheme to Rs 3,000. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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.

Mumbai:

The Ajit Pawar-led NCP’s Nitin Patil and BJP’s Dhairyasheel Patil were on Monday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha on seats vacated by Piyush Goyal and Udayanraje Bhosale, both of whom won the recent Lok Sabha polls.

While Mr Bhosale won from Satara Lok Sabha seat, Union minister Piyush Goyal was elected from Mumbai North constituency.

Nitin Patil accepted his RS appointment certificate during the day.

The NCP and the BJP are part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule took a pointed dig at her cousin and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, accusing him of mixing business with personal relationships. Ms Sule’s comments come days after Ajit Pawar claimed that he “regretted” fielding his wife, Sunetra Pawar, against Ms Sule in the Lok Sabha election earlier this year.

Ms Sule, who is the daughter of NCP founder Sharad Pawar, said: “The state government did not remember beloved Sisters during Lok Sabha polls, their love started overflowing during assembly polls.”

“Sadly, our brothers could not differentiate between relations and business. One should not bring money into relationships and not bring relations into business. However, our brother failed to understand this. This has hurt us a lot,” she added.

Ms Sule’s criticism did not stop there. She took a broader swipe at the NDA government, accusing it of using welfare schemes as tools for electoral gain rather than genuine concern for the people. “This government does everything only for votes. They do nothing with genuine intent. This is the impact of the Lok Sabha elections. Two years ago, no one showed any affection or concern for sisters. This is solely the effect of the Lok Sabha elections,” she asserted.

The comments appeared to be directed at the much-debated “Ladki Bahin” scheme of the Maharashtra government.

Ajit Pawar is currently on a statewide ‘Jan Samman Yatra,’ promoting various government initiatives, including the Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana. This program, which offers Rs 1,500 per month to women, has been at the centre of controversy. Ms Sule, criticising the scheme, has urged women to withdraw the money from their accounts. “I request my Ladli Behan to withdraw the money quickly as you cannot trust this government,” she warned.

But her comments were significantly timed, days after her cousin expressed regret for fielding his wife Sunetra Pawar against Supriya Sule in the Baramati constituency in the Lok Sabha polls.

“I love all my sisters. One shouldn’t allow politics to enter homes. I made a mistake in fielding Sunetra against my sister. This shouldn’t have happened. But the parliamentary board (of NCP) made a decision. Now I feel it was wrong,” Ajit Pawar told a Marathi news channel on Monday.

Sunetra Pawar failed to unseat Ms Sule from the Baramati constituency.

Elections to the 288-seat Maharashtra assembly are scheduled to be held this year. Ms Sule, part of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP is an ally of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress.

 

Mumbai:

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is again making headlines with comments on Baramati — the bastion of his undivided family. Months after his party lost the parliamentary constituency to his cousin Supriya Sule, Mr Pawar has now conceded it was a mistake to field his wife — a comment that has seen multiple interpretations. Today, he spoke of finding a successor for the Baramati assembly constituency that he currently holds. 

The 65-year-old also hinted that he might not be contesting in the assembly elections due by the year-end.  “I am not interested in that (contesting elections) as I have contested seven or eight elections.” he told reporters. 

Asked about his son Jay Pawar’s wish to contest from the seat, Ajit Pawar provided a controlled response.

“It is a democracy…. If the people and supporters think so, the (NCP) parliamentary board will discuss it,” he said. If the parliamentary board and “people” felt that Jay should be fielded, the NCP was ready to field him, Mr Pawar added.

Back in 2019, Ajit Pawar’s eldest son, Parth Pawar, was defeated by Shrirang Barne of the Shiv Sena by a margin of over two lakh votes in the Maval constituency.

After breaking away from his uncle Sharad Pawar and splitting the party he founded, the election track record of Ajit Pawar’s faction has been less than sterling. Contesting four of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha seats earlier this year, the NCP could only win one — an outcome attributed to voters’ opinion of the split in the party and the attribution of the party name to the Ajit Pawar faction.

Mr Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar lost to his cousin Supriya Sule by over 1.5 lakh votes in Baramati. 

On Tuesday, Mr Pawar conceded that it was a mistake to field his wife against his sister. One should not allow politics to enter home, Mr Pawar had told Marathi news channel Jai Maharashtra, while on a statewide ‘Jan Samman Yatra’.

“I love all my sisters. One shouldn’t allow politics to enter homes. I made a mistake in fielding Sunetra against my sister. This shouldn’t have happened. But the parliamentary board (of NCP) made a decision. Now I feel it was wrong,” Ajit Pawar said.

Will there be a rapprochement? Ajit Pawar’s response has only fanned speculation. ‘No comment,” said the NCP leader, without giving a  clear answer.

Mumbai:

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said he made a mistake by fielding his wife Sunetra Pawar against his cousin Supriya Sule in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

One should not allow politics to enter home, Ajit Pawar, who is currently on a statewide ‘Jan Samman Yatra’, told Marathi news channel Jai Maharashtra.

As part of his mass outreach programme ahead of the state assembly polls, the deputy CM has been promoting the government’s ‘Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana’, aimed at providing financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per month to women.

In the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, Sunetra Pawar unsuccessfully contested the election from Baramati seat against sitting NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, daughter of Ajit Pawar’s uncle Sharad Pawar.

Sunetra Pawar was later elected to the Rajya Sabha.

In July last year, Ajit Pawar and a number of other MLAs joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government, leading to a split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founded Sharad Pawar.

The Election Commission later declared the Ajit-led group as the real NCP.

“I love all my sisters. One shouldn’t allow politics to enter homes. I made a mistake in fielding Sunetra against my sister. This shouldn’t have happened. But the parliamentary board (of NCP) made a decision. Now I feel it was wrong,” Ajit Pawar said.

Asked if he will visit his cousin on Raksha Bandhan next week, the NCP leader said he is currently on a tour and if he and his sisters are at one place that day, he would surely meet them.

The deputy CM said he has decided to speak only on development and welfare schemes for farmers, women and youth and not respond to criticism against him.

Ajit Pawar also said Sharad Pawar is a senior leader and head of their family and he would not respond to any criticism made by the latter.

On the senior Pawar being targeted by the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena, the NCP leader said the Mahayuti allies should also understand what they speak.

“I voice my opinion when we sit together,” he added.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Nagpur:

Senior NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh on Thursday challenged Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to make public the video clips that show him allegedly speaking against NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Deshmukh said, “Yesterday, Mr Fadnavis claimed that he has some video clips about my comments against Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray. Then he should make the video clips public because I know he possesses none.”

“But he does not have any such video clips and he talked about them just to level allegations,” he said.

Mr Deshmukh also showed a pen drive saying that it contains evidence about the allegations he made against Fadnavis.

He reiterated his allegation that three years ago, he was pressured by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis to make an affidavit and level false allegations against Uddhav Thackeray, Ajit Pawar, Aaditya Thackeray and Anil Parab.

“But I clearly told them that I will not level any false allegations against anyone,” the former minister said.

He said he was sent to jail after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) action for refusing to sign the affidavit.

When asked about the pen drive in his hand, Deshmukh said it contains proof of his allegations against Mr Fadnavis.

“If I am challenged, I will reveal the video evidence I have. I don’t speak without proof. I have proof to establish that I was pressured to level false allegations against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders,” he said.

On Wednesday, Mr Deshmukh alleged that an ‘intermediary’ of Mr Fadnavis had asked him to provide affidavits against important figures in the MVA government to avoid getting embroiled in litigation himself. Mr Fadnavis had denied the allegation.

Mr Deshmukh stepped down as home minister in April 2021 after the then Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh accused him of asking police to collect money from hotel and bar owners in the city.

However, reacting to Mr Deshmukh’s allegation on Wednesday, Mr Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, had said it was baseless.

“Anil Deshmukh should know that his own party leaders have provided me with multiple pieces of audio-visual evidence of his comments about then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, or the controversial police officer Sachin Waze. If false accusations are levelled against me, I will have no choice but to make this evidence public,” Mr Fadnavis said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is in a huddle with party colleagues in Pune today after several key leaders switched to the NCP faction led by his uncle and party founder Sharad Pawar. Four Pune leaders resigned from their roles in the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar and joined the Sharad Pawar camp yesterday. These include Ajit Gavhane, NCP’s former Pimpri-Chinchwad chief, and local leaders Rahul Bhosale, Pankaj Bhalekar, and Yash Sane.

Over 20 former corporators, mayors and unit heads from Pimpri-Chinchwad switched to the senior Pawar’s camp yesterday.

The switch comes a month after the Lok Sabha election, in which the Sharad Pawar faction posted a stellar show by winning 8 of the 10 seats it contested. The Ajit Pawar camp was left disappointed, as it managed to win just one seat and lost three. The results, at one level, also showed it is the senior Pawar that NCP supporters are eager to back. This is all the more significant because state polls in Maharashtra are months away.

Sharad Pawar’s Comeback

Sharad Pawar, who founded NCP in 1999, suffered a big setback last year when his nephew Ajit Pawar led a mutiny and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government as a Deputy Chief Minister. The veteran politician also lost his party’s name and symbol and had to fight the Lok Sabha election under the name of NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). The poll results brought good news as the veteran trumped his nephew’s faction and won eight seats out of the 10 NCP (SP) contested.

Why NCP Leaders Are Switching

Elections in Maharashtra are months away, and every leader is exploring ways to get a poll pass. With the Sharad Pawar-led faction scoring big in the Lok Sabha polls, many leaders expect them to repeat it in the state election and want to be on the winning side. Several leaders have cited local factors behind their move to switch. “If you look at Pimpri-Chinchwad, both Ajit dada and Pawar sahab contributed to its development. But since 2017, BJP has been ruling the municipal corporation. Development work here was done in the wrong way. There was rampant corruption here,” Mr Gavhane told ANI.

Sharad Pawar’s daughter and four-time Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule said the veteran leader has been working for development in Maharashtra and at the Centre for the last 60 years. “We have faith in Pawar sahab’s ideology and many people in the opposition, too, look towards him with great hopes. This is why people are joining him,” Ms Sule told ANI.

Can Ajit Pawar Switch?

As leaders of his faction switch to Sharad Pawar’s camp, there is speculation that Ajit Pawar, too, may finally try to go back. Sharad Pawar was recently asked if his nephew will get a place in his party if he wants to return. The veteran replied, “Such decisions cannot be taken at the personal level. My colleagues who stood by me during the crisis will be asked first”.

Ajit Pawar’s standing in the Eknath Shinde-led government has taken a big blow due to his poll setback. He is now a Deputy Chief Minister, whose party managed just one seat in the Lok Sabha contest. 

And against this backdrop, the upcoming state polls will be a tall challenge for the 64-year-old leader.