Ajit holds show of strength in Sharad Pawar's bastion after split in NCP

NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Saturday received a grand welcome in Baramati, which is his assembly constituency and also the pocket borough of party chief Sharad Pawar, on his first visit after joining the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra and parting ways with his uncle. Ajit Pawar, clad in a white kurta pyjama and wearing a matching turban, was showered with flowers and presented a huge garland. He led the roadshow in a vehicle and received people with folded hands en route to the venue of the rally where he was felicitated.

Speaking on the occasion, Ajit Pawar said the only reason he joined the BJP-Shiv Sena government was for the development of the state and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for implementing multiple projects in the country. In a surprise move, Ajit Pawar was sworn in as deputy chief minister last month, while eight MLAs of the Nationalist Congress Party took oath as ministers. "I will not break the faith of Barmatikars. The only reason I joined the government of Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis was for the development of Maharashtra. I never wanted to insult anybody ever, I just accepted the reality," he said without taking names while addressing the rally.

During his speech, he said there is no other leader in the country like PM Modi who is working hard. "India accepted (Jawaharlal) Nehruji for his leadership. People also loved Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee for their qualities. Manmohan Singh ji served as the prime minister for ten years but he spoke less. Now, Modiji is working hard," he said. Ajit Pawar also said he had criticised PM Modi in the past but later saw multiple projects and developments happening in the country. "I want to appreciate Modiji," he added. He said the Nationalist Congress Party- founded by his uncle Sharad Pawar- could have got the chief minister's post back in 2004. "But I do not want to go deep and talk about that topic".

"Even Sonia Gandhi had told late Vilasrao Deshmukh that NCP has more number of seats than Congress but still we didn't make it to the CM's post. Also, Uddhav Thackeray could have given the CM's post for 2.5 years, but let it be, I do not want to comment anything more. I assure you that I'll do justice to the post of Deputy Chief Minister of the state," he added.

Interestingly, Uddhav Thackeray had snapped ties with old ally BJP after the 2019 assembly elections alleging that the BJP reneged on the promise of sharing the CM's post with Shiv Sena (then undivided). He later joined hands with the NCP and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Ajit Pawar was deputy CM in the erstwhile government. "Currently we are working to provide better facilities to the people of Baramati. Many schemes are coming through the Prime Minister which will prove effective for the state. Work on roads, gardens, and overbridges is currently going on. I want to make Baramati a clean and neat city," Ajit Pawar said. The Baramati MLA said he never witnessed such a grand welcome in his life.

Notably, the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency is represented by Ajit Pawar's cousin sister Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar. On Friday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar caused a flutter when he said there was no split in his party and Ajit Pawar is its leader, only to deny his statement a few hours later.