NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief minister Ajit Pawar, along with his faction of National Congress Party (NCP) leaders, met with NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday, marking their first meeting since the rebellion.
The meeting, held at the YB Chavan Centre in Nariman Point, Mumbai, was attended by ministers who were recently sworn in as part of the Chief minister Eknath Shinde-led government.
Accompanying Ajit Pawar were senior NCP leader and party’s working president Praful Patel, Deputy Chairman of the Assembly Narhari Zirwal, and ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Sanjay Bansode, Aditi Tatkare, among others.
During the meeting, the rebel leaders reportedly requested Sharad Pawar to explore options for maintaining party unity, to which Pawar has not yet responded. The unscheduled meeting lasted for approximately half an hour, according to sources.
Speaking after the meeting, Praful Patel stated that they had requested Pawar to take steps to ensure the party remained intact. Patel mentioned that the meeting was unplanned, and they sought Pawar’s blessings as he is their idol. He emphasised their desire to keep the party united and expressed that Pawar has not responded to their request.
“We met Pawar Saheb at his office without informing him. It was an unscheduled meeting. We met him and took his blessings, as he is our idol. We want the party to be kept united and we requested that he consider it. He has not reacted to it,” he said.
Jayant Patil, the state unit chief of NCP, confirmed that the rebel leaders expressed regret for their rebellion. While no specific proposals were presented during the meeting, Patil stated that the rebel faction discussed their efforts to maintain party unity. He added that the Sharad Pawar faction currently has the support of 19 MLAs and remains open to the rebels returning.
Recently, Chief Minister Shinde allocated fresh portfolios to the newly inducted NCP ministers, with Ajit Pawar receiving the crucial finance and planning portfolio.
Ajit Pawar, who previously held the position of finance minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, severed ties and joined the Shinde faction, garnering support from 29 NCP MLAs. However, 19 MLAs remain aligned with Sharad Pawar.
The meeting between Ajit Pawar and his uncle, Sharad Pawar, marked their first interaction since Ajit Pawar rebelled against his uncle and joined the Eknath Shinde-led government on July 2.
Additionally, Ajit Pawar had also visited Silver Oak, the official residence of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, to meet Pawar’s wife and his aunt, Pratibha Pawar, after she underwent surgery at a hospital in Mumbai.