Congress And Shiv Sena (UBT) Raise Concern Over Another Sharad Pawar-Ajit Meeting, Seeks Clarity To Dispel Confusion

Following a meeting with his nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in Pune on Saturday (12 August), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar reiterated on Sunday that his party would not form an alliance with Ajit's ally BJP.

However, Pawar's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, Congress and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), held discussions and urged him to clarify the "confusion" caused by such meetings.

During an event in Sangola, Solapur district, Pawar stated, "NCP’s political stand does not include joining hands with the BJP. None of us are with the BJP. Some of our colleagues have taken a different position and therefore a few friends of ours are trying to reconcile and check if that changed position can be reversed. For that, they are trying to communicate with us. But I want to clearly state in my capacity as the national president of the NCP that there is no question of the NCP allying with the BJP," reports Indian Express.

Pawar's remarks came after attending a function organised by the family of Ganpatrao Deshmukh, an 11-time Sangola MLA from the Peasants and Workers Party.

The event was also attended by Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP.

“Ajit is my nephew. I am the eldest person in the Pawar family. Meeting a younger person in the family or calling him to meet is nothing wrong,” said the NCP chief.

Asked the reason for the secrecy if it was a family meeting, Pawar said, “What secret meeting? Instead of meeting at my place, we met at someone’s house. Does that make it secret?”

When reporters inquired about his response to the Election Commission, where he denied any split within the NCP, Pawar affirmed that he stands by his reply.

Pawar's recent clarification about his meeting with Ajit did not alleviate the concerns among his allies.

State Congress president Nana Patole held a meeting with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray at Thackeray's residence in Mumbai, which lasted for over two and a half hours.

They discussed the current political situation in the state and also talked about the "misinformation" being spread about Sharad Pawar, according to Patole.

Patole emphasised the importance of avoiding any confusion among the people and workers of the MVA regarding the meeting between Sharad and Ajit Pawar.

"We believe that the people look at the MVA as a united front and no confusion should be created about us. We both (Congress and Shive Sena- UBT) are ensuring that,” Patole was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

Sanjay Raut, the spokesperson for Shiv Sena (UBT) and a Rajya Sabha MP, stated that he was also present during the meeting between Nana Patole and Uddhav Thackeray.

"We are unanimous in our view that Sharad Pawar should set the record straight once and for all. He should remove the confusion regarding his faction’s stand … His meeting in this fashion will only create confusion in the minds of the voters, which will prove costly for the MVA in the ensuing elections," Raut said.

Raut mentioned that he intends to discuss this matter with Pawar.

“The MVA will prefer to have a clear-cut stand from Sharad Pawar on this count. If something like this continues, the confusion among voters will continue to grow and will prove harmful to us," Raut said.

The responsibility lies with Sharad Pawar to firmly declare his position regarding the Ajit Pawar camp and the BJP, according to Raut.

The Pawars held a meeting on Saturday afternoon at the residence of real estate developer Atul Choradiya in Pune's Koregaon Park area.

NCP state president Jayant Patil, who remains aligned with the Pawar camp and has denied rumours of switching sides to Ajit, was reportedly also present during the meeting.

The meeting reportedly lasted for four hours. Visuals shown on regional news channels captured Pawar arriving at Choradiya's residence around 1 pm and leaving around 5 pm. Ajit was seen leaving the premises at 6.45 pm.

Patil, who attended the meeting but left early, stated that it was not a secret meeting but he was unaware of the details discussed during the meeting as he left early.

The Pawars have recently had multiple meetings, sparking speculation about their intentions.

In the second week of July, the uncle and nephew met three times in as many days. At the time, Pawar's MVA allies explained these meetings as the Ajit group's attempt to minimise the damage it had caused. However, the NCP chief had made it clear that he would not align with the BJP.

Prior to the Lokmanya Tilak National Award ceremony on 1 August, some members of Pawar's NCP group and his allies tried to convince him not to attend.

The event involved felicitating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sharing the stage with Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Ajit, and Fadnavis.

Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut expressed concerns that Pawar's attendance would send the wrong message, creating confusion among NCP workers and supporters. Despite criticism from his allies, Pawar attended the event.