On Friday, Ajit Pawar, the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, expressed his support for his uncle Sharad Pawar, who withdrew his resignation as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief.
Ajit Pawar stated that Sharad Pawar’s decision to remain as NCP president would inspire party workers and boost the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition. Despite being present at the NCP committee meeting in the morning, Ajit Pawar did not attend the press conference at YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai earlier in the day. However, Sharad Pawar denied any conflict with Ajit Pawar and stated that his nephew was not planning to leave the party.
In response to the reports of NCP leaders switching to rival parties, Sharad Pawar dismissed the claims and stated that nobody in the party wanted to leave.
He added that Ajit Pawar, who previously served as the Maharashtra deputy chief minister, was the only NCP leader aware of his decision to retire and had supported his choice. Sharad Pawar founded the NCP in 1999 after splitting from the Congress party and took his party members by surprise earlier this week when he announced his resignation as president, citing the need for new leadership.
Sharad Pawar responded to questions about Ajit Pawar’s absence from the press conference by stating that the party’s senior leaders had unanimously made a decision and informed him of it. He emphasized that the decision represented the sentiments of everyone and that it was not appropriate to question who was present or not or to read too much into it.
