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.

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 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.)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and and Ajit Pawar during the foundation stone laying and inauguration ceremony of multiple developmental projects in Mumbai on July 13, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Mahayuti government on July 23 welcomed the Union Budget for allocating funds and projects worth over ₹8,000 crore for Maharashtra, while the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) criticised it for focusing mainly on Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, States ruled by allies of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

Shiv Sena president and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repaid the trust placed in him by every Indian and brought relief to the common man by making major changes in the tax structure. He also referred to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remark that it is a “Navratna Budget” focusing on farmers, women, youth, skill development, employment, infrastructure development, urban development, social justice, and ‘Developed India’.

‘Too little, too late’

However, NCP (SP) working president and Baramati MP Supriya Sule alleged that Maharashtra has been neglected despite the BJP-led Mahayuti government depending on the support of two other political outfits. She said only two States seem to be “Ladki (adorable)” for the Centre — Bihar and Andhra Pradesh — alluding to the Maharashtra government’s Ladki Behan and Ladka Bhau schemes introduced in the State Budget.

“In 2014, Chandrababu Naidu had made a request for aid, but he did not receive support then. Now, it’s too little, too late. The credit for this shift should go to India’s voters. When they [the BJP] had 303 MPs, they did not prioritise helping Andhra Pradesh or Bihar. But after their numbers dropped to 240, they started paying attention to these two States,” Ms. Sule said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MLA Aaditya Thackeray said the Union government through its Budget seemed to indicate that the BJP does not like Maharashtra. He questioned why the State, despite being the largest taxpayer, received less allocation in the Budget. “I can understand the BJP wanting to save its [NDA] government and giving Bihar and Andhra Pradesh a huge sum of the budget. But what is Maharashtra’s fault? That we are the largest taxpayer? What did we get against what we contributed? Was Maharashtra mentioned even once in the budget? Why does the BJP hate and insult Maharashtra so much? This isn’t the first time, through the entire past decade of BJP’s government, we have seen this bias against Maharashtra,” he posted on X.

State Congress chief Nana Patole blamed the three constituents of the Mahayuti government — the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP — for Maharashtra not receiving any major allocation and said the trio of Mr. Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar isn’t trusted any more by the Centre. He also pointed out that the stock markets had tanked during the presentation of the Budget. The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex fell by over 1,000 points, slipping below the 80,000-mark. It recovered prior to closing hours, but remained in the red.

“The fact that the stock market also collapsed shows that it was a disappointing Budget for various sectors. Yet the Chief Minister is showering praises on the Prime Minister and Finance Minister. It only goes on to show that he is more concerned about his position in Maharashtra and desperate for power,” Mr. Patole said.

Fadnavis’s riposte

Refuting the claims made by Maha Vikas Aghadi, Mr. Fadnavis said Maharashtra had secured schemes, projects and funds worth at least ₹8,045 crore. He then went on to list some of the proposed allocations for the State — ₹600 crore for irrigation projects in Vidarbha and Marathwada, ₹400 crore for Maharashtra Rural Road Improvement, ₹466 crore for economic corridors for inclusive development, ₹598 crore for environment-friendly, sustainable agriculture projects, ₹150 crore for Maharashtra agriculture and rural transformation project, ₹908 crore for Mumbai Urban Transport Project-3, ₹1,087 crore for Mumbai Metro, ₹499 crore for Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, ₹150 crore for Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s green urban mobility, ₹500 crore for Nagpur Metro, ₹814 crore for Pune Metro, ₹500 crore for Nag river pollution abatement, and ₹690 crore for Mula Mutha river conservation.

Pune:

NCP working president Supriya Sule said on Saturday that she has never said anything against her politically estranged cousin Ajit Pawar.

Ms Sule, who represents the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, was in Pune to pray to various Ganesh idols during Ganeshotsav.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) suffered a jolt in July after a group of party leaders led by Ajit Pawar broke away and joined the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra. Ms Sule has remained with her father and party founder Sharad Pawar.

Talking to reporters after paying obeisance to the deity at the Kasba Ganpati pandal, she said, “I never ask anything from God, I only thank them. This year, the state has received less rain, so I prayed to God for Maharashtra to receive good showers.” 

Asked about her recent speech referring to “bhai” (brother) in Parliament, Sule said, “Ajit Dada is my elder brother and I have never said anything against him. Whatever I said in Parliament is not against any person but against the statements made by honourable PM Modiji and Amit Shah.” 

Speaking in Parliament on the women’s reservation bill, Sule had said, “Har ghar mein aise bhai nahi hote hain jo behan ka kalyan dekhte hain (not every house has a brother that looks after the  well-being of the sister).” 

She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised her party for the past 10 years but now he doesn’t say that NCP is a “Naturally Corrupt Party”.

“The BJP always conducted revenge politics. If allegations made against us are true, let there be an inquiry (against us). Also, if the allegations turn out to be false, BJP should apologise to us,” he said.

To a question about BJP Lok Sabha member Ramesh Bidhuri’s derogatory remarks in the Lower House against BSP MP Danish Ali, Sule said the comments were very unfortunate. The NCP and Trinamool Congress have already written to the Lok Sabha Speaker about the incident, she said. 

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

Pune, Maharashtra:

Criticizing the BJP government over police lathi charge on the protesting people for the demand of the Maratha reservation, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Supriya Sule on Friday said that BJP government has cruelly cheated the society and they should apologize to the Maratha community for this.

Taking to her X (earlier known as Twitter), she wrote “The police lathi-charged the protestors who were agitating for the demand of Maratha reservation. This is very outrageous.”

मराठा आरक्षणाच्या मागणीसाठी आंदोलन करणाऱ्या आंदोलकांवर पोलीसांनी लाठीचार्ज केला.‌ हे अतिशय संतापजनक आहे. मराठा समाजाला आरक्षण देण्याच्या भुलथापा देऊन भाजपाने मते घेतली परंतु आरक्षणाच्या बाबतीत मराठा समाजाला केवळ आश्वासने देण्यापलीकडे भाजपाने काहीही केले नाही, ही वस्तुस्थिती आहे.… pic.twitter.com/Bq6SqqZJFJ

— Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) September 1, 2023

“The fact is that the BJP won votes by giving the illusion of giving reservation to the Maratha community, but the fact is that the BJP has not done anything except giving promises to the Maratha community in the matter of reservation,” added the NCP leader.

“Our position is clear on giving reservations to Maratha, Dhangar, Lingayat and Muslim community. But the BJP has consistently taken a stand to increase confusion in this regard. It is a matter of regret that reservation is not given in spite of the government of the same party and ideas in the center and the state,” she further added in her tweet.

Supriya Sule further said in her tweet that the BJP government has cruelly cheated the society by attacking the agitators of the Maratha community. BJP should apologize to the Maratha community for this.

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