Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) has alleged that “some people” from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) were ready to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and last week’s events — party chief Sharad Pawar’s resignation and subsequent turnabout on account of the NCP cadre’s overwhelming show of support — quelled the potential rebellion.
“Some people (from NCP) were ready to leave the party and lodging-boarding arrangements were kept ready by BJP,” read the editorial published Monday in Shiv Sena (UBT)’s mouthpiece Saamana.
The editorial also criticised Sharad Pawar for failing to lay down a clear succession plan — a reference to the 82-year-old NCP founder’s failure to name a political heir.
Denying the claims, NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said Monday, “We don’t agree with what is written in the editorial. We all believe in the ideology of Pawar saheb, so it’s not true that he hasn’t groomed a successor.”
The editorial in Saamana went further to suggest that the BJP wanted to engineer a split in the NCP ‘as it did in the case of the Shiv Sena’, which led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government last June.
“One group within the NCP was of the opinion that (Sharad) Pawar should join hands with the BJP and, in turn, save colleagues from the ED (Enforcement Directorate), CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), IT (Income Tax) raids but Pawar refused,” it read, adding that Pawar foiled BJP’s alleged plan to split the NCP.
Referring to the 18-member committee of senior NCP leaders tasked with deciding on Pawar’s resignation, the editorial added that the panel “had members who were ready to go into the BJP fold but because of pressure from workers and strong emotions that were seen, the committee had to refuse Pawar’s resignation and accept him as their everything”.
This was not the first time such claims were made in an editorial published in Saamana.
On Thursday, another editorial in it hinted that some NCP leaders were believed to be in touch with the BJP. The NCP, an ally of the Shiv Sena (UBT), denied the charge with its spokesperson Tapase saying, “All of NCP is united and will put up candidates against BJP to ensure the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) wins maximum seats in the (2024) assembly polls.”
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Ajit Pawar & Supriya Sule
Last week, Sharad Pawar took many — including some in his own party — by surprise, when he announced his resignation as NCP chief from the dais during the launch of his updated biography.
While workers and party leaders opposed his decision, nephew and leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Ajit Pawar was the only NCP leader supporting Sharad Pawar’s move.
However, Sharad Pawar said at a press conference Friday that Ajit Pawar had an inkling of his decision, which is why he came out in support.
Speaking to the media in Baramati, Ajit Pawar said Sunday, “Was everyone from the NCP present at that (Friday’s) press conference? Since it was a media interaction, only four to five leaders were present, including state NCP chief Jayant Patil, Praful Patel, and some leaders from Kerala and North India.”
“Pawar saheb asked us not to come. As it was his decision, others did not come for the presser,” he explained, referring to the press conference in which Sharad Pawar said he had decided to withdraw his resignation.
Against this backdrop, another statement by Sharad Pawar about his daughter and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule also assumes significance.
Amid speculation about Sule being the probable candidate to lead the NCP after Pawar’s exit, Sharad Pawar said that she had made it clear that she was not interested in heading the party and would rather focus on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “Supriya said that she is not ready to take up any new responsibility,” Pawar said Sunday, on the sidelines of his first public engagement since his 2 May announcement that sent shock waves.
Although, having said that, Pawar also hinted that Sule may not be averse to heading the party sometime in the future.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)