 after the Ajit Pawar-led faction accused Rohit Pawar){kind=link}
Mumbai:
A fresh political controversy has erupted within Maharashtra’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after the Ajit Pawar-led faction accused NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar of once threatening to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if he was denied an election ticket.
The allegation was made on Saturday by NCP spokesperson Umesh Patil, who claimed Rohit Pawar had earlier tried to align himself with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar before eventually remaining with Sharad Pawar’s faction.
“Rohit Pawar wanted to come to the NCP party and was behind Ajit Dada,” Patil alleged while speaking to reporters. He further claimed that Rohit Pawar had warned Sharad Pawar that he would contest elections on a BJP ticket if he was not accommodated politically.
“Rohit Pawar had threatened Sharad Pawar that if he was not given a ticket, he would contest from the BJP,” Patil said.
The remarks come amid intensifying speculation over possible political realignments within the NCP and growing chatter about unease among senior leaders in the Ajit Pawar camp.
Patil also accused Rohit Pawar of attempting to leverage Ajit Pawar’s political legacy to strengthen his own position in Baramati politics.
“Rohit Pawar wants to use the legacy of Dada to position himself as the next leader of Baramati,” he alleged.
The NCP spokesperson further referred to the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe linked to the Pawar family and said the family continues to have faith in the investigation.
“CBI investigation is on, the family has faith in it. No one is affected more than the wife and the two sons,” Patil said.
The war of words follows Rohit Pawar’s recent claim that as many as 22 MLAs from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction are in contact with the BJP and could switch sides in the near future.
Speaking earlier this week, the Karjat-Jamkhed MLA also pointed to the absence of senior leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare from the party’s newly announced working committee list, fuelling speculation about internal disagreements within the organisation.
“Talks of both factions coming together had gained momentum while Dada was still alive in the party,” Rohit Pawar had said.
He also highlighted the long association that Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare have shared with Sharad Pawar over the years.
“A few days ago, Sunil Tatkare had gone to meet Sharad Pawar. I am also told that Praful Patel was present during the meeting,” he claimed.
However, Rohit Pawar clarified that the meeting was “non-political” in nature and dismissed suggestions of any immediate political development.
The latest exchange has once again exposed the continuing tensions between the rival NCP factions formed after Ajit Pawar’s split from Sharad Pawar’s camp. With Maharashtra politics witnessing constant speculation over defections and alliances, the accusations are expected to further intensify political debate in the state ahead of upcoming electoral battles.