Maha: 'If Ajit Pawar joins hands with the BJP, most of the NCP MLAs will go with him'

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Two MLAs of the Opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday asserted they will remain loyal to their leader Ajit Pawar no matter what "decision" he takes in the coming days, remarks coming amid intense speculation in Maharashtra's political circles about the latter inching closer to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

One of the legislators, Manikrao Kokate, even said if the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly joins hands with the BJP, most of the NCP MLAs (numbering 53) will go with him.

Speculation about Ajit Pawar's next political move started swirling when last week he suddenly cancelled his schedule meetings and also made comments which were seen as being soft on the BJP and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's camp. The BJP is part of the Shinde government.

Earlier this month, the former deputy CM had credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "charisma" for the BJP's victory in 2014 and said inflation and jobs for youth were more important issues than the PM's academic degrees.

However, for record the Pawar junior has dubbed speculation about moving closer to the BJP as baseless and denied meeting Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah, who was in Mumbai over the weekend.

The two NCP MLAs -- Anna Bansode (Pune district) and Manikrao Kokate (Nashik district) --- while speaking to regional news channel TV9 Marathi, said they would stick with Ajit Pawar whatever "decision" he takes in the next few days.

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Bansode said, "When Ajit Pawar had tried to form a government with the BJP in November 2019 (Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government had lasted for 3 days), I had expressed my full support to Pawar. I am still loyal to him and extend my full support to whatever decision he may take in the future."

Kokate claimed most of the NCP MLAs are with Ajit Pawar.

"There is not a single leader in the Maharashtra Assembly except Ajit Pawar who can run a government efficiently. If Ajit Pawar joins hands with the BJP, most of the NCP MLAs will go with him," he said.

Bansode even stated that Ajit Pawar had called for a meeting on Tuesday in Mumbai and he would attend it. However, less than an hour after Bansode's on air statement, the NCP clarified that no such meeting has been scheduled.

Ajit Pawar and current chief minister Eknath Shinde were cabinet colleagues in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government headed by Uddhav Thackeray. Under the MVA government, where Ajit Pawar served as deputy CM and held the finance portfolio, claims were made that his party NCP had cornered the lion's share in budgetary allocations for different departments.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed NCP chief Sharad Pawar recently told former CM Uddhav Thackeray that his party will never join hands with the BJP even if someone in the party takes an individual decision to do so.

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