NCP MLC Eknath Khadse claims he declined offer to join Ajit Pawar's faction

NCP MLC Eknath Khadse. File Pic

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC Eknath Khadse has claimed that he was contacted by a loyalist of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar asking him to join his faction but he declined the offer, reported news agency PTI.

"I had received a call from NCP MLC Amol Mitkari on behalf of Ajit Pawar asking me to side with his faction. I told him flatly that I was loyal to Sharad Pawar. I will not leave him," Eknath Khadse told reporters.

Eknath Khadse, a former minister, had left the Bharatiya Janata Party on a sour note ending the nearly 40-year-old association in 2020. After joining NCP, he was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

Commenting over the issue, Khadse's political rival from Jalgaon district and senior BJP leader Girish Mahajan said, "I came to know that Khadse was trying to join the Ajit Pawar side but my advice to him is not to leave Sharad Pawar. He should stick with the senior Pawar," reported PTI.

Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in July this year, triggering a turf war between his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar. Both factions have been maintaining that the party has not split and that they are the real NCP.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday said he would accept the "final" decision of the Election Commission of India regarding the NCP's name and poll symbol, in view of the claims submitted by the factions led by him and Sharad Pawar.

Asked about the Sharad Pawar faction taking action against MLAs who are joining his group, Ajit Pawar said they can exercise their rights.

"However, it is the Elections Commission (EC) which makes a final decision. Both sides have gone to the ECI and everyone will put forth their stand on the given dates. As far as I am concerned, I will accept the final decision of the ECI," he said.

Asked about his assessment on the possibility of 16 MLAs (of Shiv Sena) being disqualified by the Maharashtra speaker and the chances of replacing the chief minister, he said all these reports have no meaning.

"Such reports have been doing the rounds since the day Eknath Shinde became the chief minister (in June 2022). All these reports are meaningless," Ajit Pawar added.

(With inputs from PTI)