NCP split: Chose to struggle with father than side with power and Amit Shah, says Supriya Sule

Supriya Sule. File Pic

Amid NCP split, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) working president and Baramati Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule on Thursday said she had two choices in front of her, power and struggle, and she chose the latter, reported news agency PTI.

"I had two options, power and struggle. On the side of struggle, there was my father and on the side of power was (Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader) Amit Shah. I had to choose between power and struggle. I chose struggle," Supriya Sule said at a public meeting in Indapur on NCP split, reported PTI.

"Do not forget the person who has given you birth. Someone has to say the truth. If we all get scared, there will be no democracy in the country. Today, we were sabotaged. Tomorrow you will meet the same fate," she said in an apparent reference to the split in the NCP on July 2 this year, reported PTI.

Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government, while Sule and several others chose to remain with party founder Sharad Pawar.

Sule said she had informed her family that she would be staying in Baramati for the next 10 months and would not be coming to Mumbai, reported PTI.

Lok Sabha polls will held in the first half of 2024, while Assembly polls in Maharashtra will take place in latter part.

"I told my husband and children I will stay put in Baramati till October. I told them I would not be coming to Mumbai and asked them to manage themselves," she said, reported PTI.

"The coming elections will be paramount for the country and that is why the next few months will be very crucial for all of us to decide the fate of the next five years," she asserted, reported PTI.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde set the Shiv Sena's Lok Sabha campaign rolling on Thursday by announcing he would tour 48 constituencies in the state as part of the 'Shivsankalp Abhiyaan', reported PTI.

Addressing party workers through video conferencing, Shinde asked them to prepare for the Lok Sabha polls, which will be held in the first half of 2024, reported PTI.

He directed them to campaign for candidates of the ruling alliance or 'Mahayuti', which also includes the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, reported PTI.

"The Shivsankalp Abhiyaan will start from January 6 from Yavatmal-Washim constituency. Over the next month, Shinde will visit 15 more constituencies covering different regions of the state," the CM's party said, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)