Ajit Pawar defection: NCP chief Sharad Pawar says will work to strengthen party

Moments after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar defected and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government, NCP chief Sharad Pawar spoke to the media saying that they will work to strengthen the party again. Addressing the media on Sunday, July 2, Sharad Pawar said, “The MLAs and senior leaders will sit together and decide about action against the rebel leaders.” 

The senior leader also expressed disappointment at some party members for not following their responsibilities. Sharad Pawar said, “Being the president, I had appointed Praful Patel [NCP Working President] and Sunil Tatkare [General Secretary] but they did not follow their responsibilities. Therefore, I have to take some action against them.” 

Taking digs at Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had earlier accused NCP leaders of corruption, Sharad Pawar said, “Today, his [Modi’s] party has joined hands and sworn-in [as Ministers] some people from the same party against whom Modi had pointed fingers. This means that Modi’s allegations were baseless and we are now ‘absolved’ of all the charges. I am thankful to him for this… I am happy for those facing enquiries who have taken oath today,” he said.

The NCP supremo said that some of his party leaders were uneasy about the investigations by various probe agencies like Enforcement Directorate (ED), and after the PM’s accusations they got very uneasy, prompting them to take the move on Sunday. “However, many of those who have gone are in touch with me… Some have also said how their signatures were taken. They have also said that they would make their stance clear in the next two-three days,” said Pawar.

Ajit Pawar defected along with 29 other MLAs from NCP and was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister at the Raj Bhavan on Sunday. He will be sharing the post with former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Along with Ajit Pawar, senior leaders of NCP Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Aditi Tatkare, Dhananjay Munder, Hasan Mushrif, Ramraje Nimbalkar, Sanjay Bansode, Dharmarav Baba Atram, and Anil Bhaidas Patil took oath as Ministers. 

Before switching sides. Ajit Pawar called for a meeting of NCP legislators  at his residence on Sunday. The meeting was attended by NCP working president Supriya Sule and other senior leaders. However, Sharad Pawwar said that he was not aware of the meeting.