File photo of Ajit Pawar
Credit: PTI Photo
Baramati/Mumbai: Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar stated on Friday that he regretted not splitting with his uncle and mentor Sharad Pawar when the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) gave away the post of the Maharashtra chief minister to the Congress.
Ajit Pawar’s statement was in reference to the 2004 Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra, when the Congress and NCP contested as Democratic Front and got 69 and 71 seats, respectively.
In Baramati, the contest is between Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar, who is the candidate of NCP and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, who is a three-time MP.
While addressing a Lok Sabha rally in Indapur tehsil in the Baramati constituency of Pune district, Ajit Pawar said, “In 2004, when we (NCP) had won more seats, the Congress was ready to give away the chief minister’s post…Late (chief minister and Congress leader) Vilasrao Deshmukh told me that Madam (Sonia Gandhi) has said Congress has no right to claim the chief minister post,” Ajit Pawar said.
He went on to add that thereafter Deshmukh asked who should be the chief minister from NCP. “Whether it should be me, (late) RR Patil or Chhagan Bhujbal,” Ajit Pawar said.
"However, we took four additional ministerial berths and gave up the chief minister's post altogether. Yet, I kept quiet. Now I feel what I have done today, I should have done it in 2004 itself (rebelling against his uncle) .”
In June-July 2023, Ajit Pawar rebelled against his uncle and switched over to the BJP-led NDA camp to become deputy chief minister alongside BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis in the government headed by Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde.
Ajit Pawar slammed his uncle (Sharad Pawar) by saying, "Your political moves are strategy but my political moves are termed as betrayal?,”