‘You are 83 years old, will you ever stop?’: Ajit Pawar takes a dig at uncle Sharad, defeating him in NCP’s numbers game

Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and rebel NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Wednesday took a dig at his uncle and party founder Sharad Pawar, asking him to now retire from his long political career. Addressing a gathering of his supporters and MLAs and MPs from his faction, Ajit Pawar said, “You are 83 years old, will you ever stop? I request you to rest now.”

Mocking the Maratha strongman and his uncle, Ajit Pawar said, “You portrayed me as a villain in front of everyone. I still have deep respect for him (Sharad Pawar)…but you tell me, IAS officers retire at the age of 60. .Even in politics, BJP leaders retire at the age of 75. You can see the example of LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi… This gives a chance to the new generation to move forward… You (Sharad Pawar) give us your blessings… Second Next day, he went to YB Chavan Memorial. .. I’ve been there too… But you’re 83, aren’t you going to stop?… Give us your blessings and we’ll pray you live a long life.”

Ajit Pawar also claimed that in 2017, the NCP had attempted to join hands with the BJP, but the saffron party refused to leave the Shiv Sena. “In 2017, we were asked by Sharad Pawar to hold discussions with Devendra Fadnavis, Chandrakant Patil to finalize the portfolio allocation. I, Sunil Tatkare and Jayant Patil were present. Pawar Saheb met the BJP high command in Delhi. The BJP told them that they would not leave the Shiv Sena and asked them to form a three-party government. Ajit Pawar said, “Pawar sahib did not agree and said, ‘We will not form government with Shiv Sena’.”

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Ajit Pawar approaches Election Commission for NCP’s name and symbol

The factional fight in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has reached the doorstep of the Election Commission, where the Ajit Pawar-led group has filed over 40 affidavits of MLAs and MPs in their support. According to reports, Ajit Pawar, who is currently leading the numbers game with more MLAs than his uncle Sharad Pawar, has approached the election panel for the party’s name and symbol.

Election Commission sources said that meanwhile, the Sharad Pawar camp has filed a caveat before the poll authority, urging them to be heard before passing any directions regarding the factional fight. The Election Commission is likely to process the applications in the coming days and may ask both the parties to exchange relevant documents placed before it.

Earlier, both the factions – Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar – held separate meetings with their legislators in Mumbai on Wednesday. In the party meeting called by Ajit Pawar, 31 of the 53 NCP MLAs were present, while the Sharad Pawar camp had only 10 MLAs till the last update.

The meetings took place after both the factions announced key appointments to consolidate their control over the party. The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, split on Sunday with Ajit Pawar claiming the support of over 40 MLAs to join the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government in Maharashtra.

In a surprise cabinet expansion on Sunday, nine NCP MLAs, including Ajit Pawar, took oath as ministers in the Maharashtra government. Ajit Pawar claimed to be the real NCP along with senior party leaders Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil.

Sharad Pawar also claimed to be the real NCP and expelled Praful Patel and Lok Sabha member Sunil Tatkare from the party. Sharad Pawar has expelled his close aides Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare from the party for “anti-party activities”.

“Your actions of supporting Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs who have taken oath as Ministers in violation of the party’s directive and mandate prima facie amount to anti-party activities and will be deemed to have voluntarily given up the membership of the Nationalist Congress Party.” ” party,” Pawar said in a communication that was also sent to the party’s two MPs.

The action of the MPs, the communication said, “amounts to deserting the party, in a clandestine manner, without the knowledge or consent of the party president, which in turn invites disqualification from the primary membership”.

Praful Patel, a Rajya Sabha MP, has been a close aide of Pawar and was appointed working president of the NCP last month. He was a minister in the Congress-led UPA government along with Pawar. Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule wrote a letter to him for action against both the MPs.

It said, “In view of your actions of voluntarily giving up membership of the Nationalist Congress Party, I formally remove your name from the membership register of the party.”