The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) office bearers and workers in Shirur Taluka have shown their discontent with the BJP’s alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) in the Lok Sabha elections. A video of the meeting has gone viral on social media where Pune District (North) BJP Vice President Sudarshan Chaudhary expressed his discomfort while addressing the meeting led by Ex Cooperation Minister of Maharashtra Subhash Deshmukh.
The BJP has deployed senior leaders in the 48 Lok Sabha Constituencies in Maharashtra to get into depth of BJP's performance in the Lok Sabha 2024. While in the meeting at Shirur Lok Sabha Constituency some BJP office bearers and party workers expressed their discontent before Deshmukh. The Shirur Takula party workers feel that the parties' move to make Ajit Pawar’s NCP a part of Mahayuti has backfired badly in the Lok Sabha Elections.
The BJP and the NCP were considered to be arch-rivals in the Shirur Taluka in the Pune district. BJP’s late Baburao Pacharne was a two-time MLA while the current NCP MLA Ashok Pawar who was a close aide of Ajit Pawar chose to be with Sharad Pawar after the NCP split. However, confusion prevailed in the minds of the party workers and the voters after Ajit Pawar joined the Mahayuti. The BJP party workers have alleged that Pawar is discriminating between the NCP and BJP wards while distributing the development funds.
BJP office bearer Sudharshan Choudhary while talking to LokmatTimes.com said, “We have been taking NCP by their horns for the past 10 to 15 years in Pune district. However, the BJP voters in the Shirur taluka were displeased after the party decided to take Ajit Pawar in the Mahayuti, which led to the fall of the Mahayuti candidate in the Shirur Lok Sabha Constituency. The NCP (Ajit Pawar) party workers indirectly worked for Sharad Pawar’s candidate in Shirur. Now when we have to face our voters and they ask us questions on the move to include Ajit Pawar in Mahayuti.”
Choudhary added by saying, “ Ajit Pawar is discriminating while distributing the development funds in Pune District. The BJP party workers are given a secondary place in the meeting with Ajit Pawar. Hence I have put forward my views before the party's senior leaders in today's meeting and stand by it that taking Ajit Pawar with us has caused significant damage to the BJP in the Pune district. The BJP does not need a government where Ajit Pawar shares the seats in Vidhansabha.”
Ex-Pune Zilla Parishad Member, current member of District Planning Commission and Senior BJP leader of Shirur Taluka Rahul Baburao Pacharne while talking to LokmatTimes.com said, “This kind of statement is not called for in the party meeting and opposed the statement while the meeting was ongoing. The party's senior leaders have decided this and it's our job to follow the party's orders. Hence the senior party leaders will decide and we will follow their guidelines.”
The video has created a stir in the police circuit in Pune District once again bringing to light the rift between BJP and NCP (Ajit Pawar) party workers at the local level.