Hours after asserting that there was no split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is its leader, party chief Sharad Pawar on Friday claimed that he did not make any such statement.
Talking to reporters at his hometown Baramati in Pune district in the morning before leaving for Kolhapur to address a rally, Pawar said some leaders have left the NCP by taking a "different political stand", but it cannot be termed as a split.
Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state on July 2, which created a split in the Sharad Pawar-founded party.
When asked about his daughter and NCP working president Supriya Sule's remark that there is no split in the party and that Ajit Pawar is its leader, Sharad Pawar said, "Yes...there is no dispute about it."
As his remarks made in Baramati created a flutter, the former Union minister clarified in Satara a few hours later that he did not say so.
"I am not saying that he is our leader. It is okay for Supriya (Sule) to say that. She is his (Ajit Pawar's) younger sister. There is no need to draw political meaning out of it," he said.
To a question on whether he endorsed Sule's views, Pawar said, "Me? You are wrong. Those who have taken a different line cannot be our leader."
Recalling Ajit Pawar's early morning swearing-in with Devendra Fadnavis after the 2019 assembly polls, Pawar apparently referred to his nephew becoming deputy chief minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and said, "Opportunity to correct oneself is given once. Opportunity cannot be given again or one shouldn't ask for it again."
A day earlier, Sule called Ajit Pawar a senior leader and MLA of the party. "Now, he (Ajit Pawar) has taken a stand that is against the party, and we have given a complaint to the assembly speaker and are awaiting his response," Sule, who is NCP's Baramati MP, said.
When asked about Sule's statement that there is no split in the NCP and Ajit Pawar is a leader of the party, Pawar senior said in Baramati, "Yes, there is no dispute about it."
How can anybody say that there is a split in NCP, he asked.
"What does a split in a political party mean? Split occurs when a large group in a party is separated at the national level. But no such thing has happened here. Some people left the party, some took a different stand... In democracy it is their right to take a decision," he added.
Reacting to Pawar's statement, Sunil Tatkare, state president of the NCP's Ajit Pawar-led faction, said there is no confusion in the party's ranks.
"We joined the government after exploring all legalities," he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the NCP had split and there were two factions.
"If there is no split, then who is Sunil Tatkare, who has been appointed by the breakaway faction as its state unit chief? The breakaway group has also removed Sharad Pawar as the national president of the party," he said.
Our MVA alliance is with the NCP led by Sharad Pawar and not with the breakaway group that has joined hands with the BJP out of fear of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Raut said.
Sharad Pawar will never deviate from his ideological leanings and become a BJP ally, he claimed.
"The MVA alliance has no place for those who join BJP out of fear," Raut said.
The Sena (UBT) MP said Sharad Pawar was in constant touch with MVA leaders for the upcoming INDIA alliance meet, Raut said.
Referring to Pawar's remarks made in Baramati, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule told reporters in Amravati, "After seeing the works of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there will be a change of heart in Sharad Pawar and his opinion will change. Along with Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule will also support the leadership of PM Modi."
BJP leader Pravin Darekar said Pawar's comments prove that the stand taken by Ajit Pawar is right.
"But any stand taken by Sharad Pawar creates ambiguity. He tells the Ajit Pawar group not to use his photograph. What is the need to say this if the party is one? If Ajit Pawar is your leader and Ajit Pawar says you are his God, then there is no need to take objection to the rebel faction using your photos," he said.
Darekar wondered what Sharad Pawar wanted to convey to the NCP cadres.
"Ajit Pawar has extended support to Narendra Modi and if Sharad Pawar is supporting Ajit Pawar then it is welcome. But it takes time to understand what Sharad Pawar really means," he said.
Congress leader Ratnakar Mahajan said all efforts of Sharad Pawar are aimed at avoiding provisions of the anti-defection law and also to keep everyone guessing.
"It looks like Sharad Pawar wants Ajit Pawar to take blame for the split in the party," he said.
A senior Congress leader refused to comment on Sharad Pawar's remarks.
"We will discuss it internally in our party and not publicly," he said.
State Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said Sharad Pawar has categorically said several times that he will stay with the INDIA alliance and never join hands with the BJP.
"However, there is a possibility of 'Ajit Pawar Returns - Part 2'. His group has not yet got official status as political party," he added.
