No split in NCP, reiterates Sharad Pawar
August 26, 2023 13:54
![image](https://im.rediff.com/news/2019/nov/25sharad-pawar.jpg)
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday once again denied a split in his party, and said while it is true that some MLAs have left, legislators alone do not mean an entire political party.
Talking to reporters in Kolhapur, Pawar asserted that he is the national president of the NCP and Jayant Patil heads its state unit.
"The NCP has not split. While it is true that some MLAs have left, MLAs don't mean a political party. Why give importance to rebels by taking their names," the former Union minister said when asked if he was being soft on the party rebels.
On Friday, when Pawar was asked about his daughter and party working president Supriya Sule's statement that NCP has not split and Ajit Pawar continues to be its leader, he said, "Yes...there is no dispute about it." But hours later, Pawar said he did not make any such statement.
Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state on July 2, creating a split in the Sharad Pawar-founded party.
The NCP chief admitted that some MLAs had written to him on joining the Shinde-led government when the one led by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) collapsed following a split in the Shiv Sena. "But no decision was taken," he said.
Targeting the BJP-led central government, Pawar said, "I will continue to oppose fascist tendencies. There has been misuse of central probe agencies." -- PTI