Sharad Pawar, deeply humiliated by his nephew’s claim that the Nationalist Congress Party — the party he founded and nurtured for over two decades — is backing Ajit Pawar, today said the truth “will be out soon”.
“I have called a meeting of the party leaders tomorrow, and there we will discuss the issue,” he told the media shortly after Ajit Pawar took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
But Ajit Pawar was unable to deliver in 2019, when he and the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took oath together in a hasty, early-morning ceremony at the Raj Bhawan,
Sharad Pawar has already proven the amount of heft he still commands in the party, Last month he had announced that he was quitting — raising a tsunami of protests from the party’s leaders and workers. Days later, he withdrew his resignation.
Shortly after that he settled the question of succession in the party, naming daughter Supriya Sule and senior leader Praful Patel as working presidents.
It had apparently upset Ajit Pawar, who had kept the proverbial stiff upper lip at the time.
In a twist now, the newly promoted Praful Patel today was seen seated next to him at a press conference, raising questions whether he would be rewarded with a ministry berth in Delhi.
Sharad Pawar, meanwhile, aimed a jab at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thanking him for “clearing” the alleged corruption cases against some of the defectors.
“Two days ago the PM had spoken about NCP… He had said two things in his statement — that NCP is a finished party. He mentioned irrigation complaint and allegations of corruption. I am happy that some of my colleagues have taken oath. From this, it is clear that all the charges have been cleared. I am thankful to him,” Mr Pawar said.
He, however, affected nonchalance, saying “nothing of this is new to me” and recounted an anecdote when after an election, all but six of his MLAs had walked out.
“This is not a new thing. The party I was leading in 1980 had 58 MLAs, later all left and only 6 MLAs left, but I strengthened the numbers and those who left me lost in their constituencies,” he said.