Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) national president Sharad Pawar said on Friday that his nephew Ajit Pawar is still their party leader and that there was no split in the party. Pawar’s remark came a day after his daughter and NCP MP Supriya Sule made a statement along the same lines.

 

 

“Ajit Pawar is our leader. There is no dispute about it. What is the meaning of split? When does a split take place in a party? If a big group breaks away from the party at the national level, then it is a split. If some people have taken a different stand, it is their right in a democracy. If they have taken a different stand, it does not mean the party has split. It is their decision,” Pawar said at a press conference in Baramati.

 

On Thursday, Sule too had said that there was no split in the party and had blamed the BJP for some NCP MLAs joining the ruling alliance. “The party has not split at all, some took a different stand of going with the BJP. We have complained to the Assembly Speaker to take action against them,” she had said.

 

 

On BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule’s claim that Pawar will also join the BJP before the 2024 elections, the NCP chief reprimanded the reporter, “Don’t ask whatever you feel like…”.

 

Asked about a media survey on the upcoming general elections, Pawar said that he did not have any idea about it. “But we are taking information from different institutions and have come to the conclusion that the MVA [Maha Vikas Aghadi] will get more seats,” he said.

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