Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Deshmukh on Wednesday hit back at Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar for taking a dig at party veteran Sharad Pawar over his age. Addressing the party workers at MET College in Bandra, 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 60 even in politics BJP leaders retire at 75. You can see the example of LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. That allows the new generation to rise You (Sharad Pawar) give us your blessings.
Anil Deshmukh hit out at Ajit Pawar's retirement remark for Sharad Pawar said, 82 saal ka sher abhi bhi zinda hai. Slamming the BJP and referring to it as the most corrupt party in the country, Supriya Sule said, Disrespect us, but not our father (Sharad Pawar). This fight is against the BJP government. BJP is the most corrupt party in the country.
In a surprise move on July 2nd NCP leader Ajit Pawar who was also the Maharashtra Leader of Opposition joined the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in Maharashtra and took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister. The move by NCP chief Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar, which also saw eight other NCP MLAs joining the Shinde-Fadnavis government, came amid efforts by opposition parties to forge unity to take on the BJP in the next year's Lok Sabha polls.