"We again requested Sharad Pawar...": Praful Patel

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India]: After having rebelled from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, Ajit Pawar NCP faction leader Praful Patel met NCP Chief on Monday and said that a request was made to the veteran leader to keep the party united, but he refrained from commenting on the issue.

Praful Patel along with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare visited Sharad Pawar YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai. While addressing the media, "Today, Ajit Pawar, Sunil Tatkare and I met Sharad Pawar at YB Chavan Centre. We again requested him to keep NCP united, and he listened to us but did not say anything about it."

Praful Patel further stated that they met Sharad Pawar to seek his blessings.

"Sharad Pawar did not invite us even today, we had come to meet Sharad Pawar to seek his blessings," he said.

Praful Patel also mentioned that he alongside Ajit Pawar will attend the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting set to be held in Delhi tomorrow.

Earlier yesterday the MLAs of the NCP Ajit Pawar faction reached the YB Chavan Centre to meet NCP President Sharad Pawar.

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel along with their MLAs reach YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai to meet NCP President Sharad Pawar. Chhagan Bhujbal, Aditi Tatkare, and Hasan Mashrif were among those who arrived at the centre.

"We all came here to seek the blessings of respected Sharad Pawar today. We requested Pawar sahib that NCP should stay united. On this, Sharad Pawar did not give any reaction," Praful Patel, Ajit Pawar faction leader, at Mumbai's YB Chavan Centre

Reacting to the meeting between the two factions, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said," For years Sharad Pawar was their leader, so they must have gone to meet him, no big deal in it."

Meanwhile, NCP Spokesperson Clyde Crasto regarding the meeting said that Ajit Pawar-led faction is realizing that they have done something wrong and the public is not liking their move of joining the Eknath Shinde-led Government.

"We are unaware of what was discussed in the meeting. Sharad Pawar always meets with everyone. They (Ajit Pawar faction ministers) are now feeling that what they did was wrong and the public is not liking it, so they are somewhere trying to show that they are still with Sharad Pawar. Nothing can happen now. Whatever they did was wrong," Clyde Crasto said.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister with eight other party legislators also joining the National Democratic Alliance government in the state.