Nationalist Congress Party leader Anil Deshmukh on Thursday slammed Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule for the latter’s statements on Sharad Pawar. Bawankule had reportedly said those from the Ajit Pawar faction, which joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2, still consider Sharad Pawar as their leader and, therefore, the NCP founder must not lower his stature by addressing rallies in constituencies of the rebels.“Bawankule should make statements that suit his stature. It is our party’s right to hold meetings wherever we want too. It is his (Sharad Pawar) right to address them,” said Deshmukh, the MLA from Katol and former state home minister.He also said those who broke away from the party must not use the photographs of Sharad Pawar.
Sharad Pawar’s NCP is part of the Opposition, in which Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress are allies. According to Bawankule, the differences within the NCP are short-lived, as state NCP chief Jayant Patil recently said that both he and Ajit Pawar are both Sharad Pawar’s karyakarta. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, along with over 40 MLAs, has joined the BJP-led coalition in Maharashtra on the plot planned by Sharad Pawar. Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar held rallies in the constituencies of NCP leaders who had defected to the opposing NCP faction led by his nephew, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Taking a dig at Uddhav Thackeray, who has vowed to fight and finish the BJP, Bawankule said that Thackeray will be left with just four to five leaders to share the dais by 2024. “Even as the chief minister of Maharashtra, he could not prevent a split in his organization. The majority of his MLAs and MPs walked out of the parent party right under his nose. He failed to stop them. Even those remaining under him will slowly leave.”