Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar denied media reports claiming he had the backing of a section of his party MLAs in his rumoured bid to switch over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In a tweet, on Monday, Ajit Pawar issued a stout denial of the news reports, saying, There are some media reports saying that I have convened a meeting of the (NCP) MLAs on Tuesday. This is completely false. I wish to clarify that I have not called a meeting of my party MLAs and office bearers.
The denial of the report in a vernacular daily by the NCP heavyweight comes just days after the BJP’s Maharashtra chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule brushed off speculations linking the former to the ruling saffron camp, saying he wasn’t aware of any such move. He further clarified that the Sharad Pawar-led NCP hasn’t held any discussions with him in this regard.
I don’t have any information about him joining the BJP or having talks with anyone in the party. He has not held any discussions with me, Bawankule told ANI. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Bal Thackeray) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday, These are baseless rumours. I spoke with him (Ajit Pawar) and other (NCP) leaders this morning.
If those spreading such canards think that they can weaken the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) by resorting to such ploys, then they are mistaken,” the Shiva Sena (UBT) MP added.
Speculations have abounded lately of Ajit Pawar joining the BJP. Rumours of his saffron switch gained ground after he recently hailed the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while adding he had full faith in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), in a remark seen as a departure from the Opposition line on the subject.