NCP MLA Rohit Pawar, the grandnephew of party chief Sharad Pawar, on Monday claimed senior leaders had an inkling of BJP's "intention" to break the party, but were clueless about Ajit Pawar's swift move to join hands with the ruling alliance. Speaking to reporters in Maharashtra's Pune city, Rohit Pawar said he is firmly with NCP chief Sharad Pawar. On Sunday, Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the NCP to become the deputy chief minister, shocking his uncle Sharad Pawar, who founded the party 24 years ago.Eight NCP leaders were also sworn in as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
Reacting to the developments, Rohit Pawar, the grandson of Sharad Pawar's elder brother Appasaheb Pawar, said, "We had no clue of Ajit Pawar joining hands with BJP. But the BJP was keen on breaking the NCP. We knew this much." "However, going by all these developments, we wonder whether people like me made a mistake by joining politics," he added. Asked about Ajit Pawar's move, the legislator said he is emotional towards him as he is his uncle. "He (Ajit Pawar) has helped me in his personal capacity also. However, politically, we all are with party chief Sharad Pawar," he said. Rohit Pawar also said if put to test, Sharad Pawar will have a larger acceptance as the leader of people. Ajit Pawar took oath in the presence of state chief minister Eknath Shinde and current deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at Raj Bhavan on Sunday. A total of 37 NCP MLAs have joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Along with Pawar, nine other NCP leaders, have also joined the Maharashtra government as ministers. The leaders who joined the BJP with Pawar include NPC leaders Chhagan Bhujbal, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Dilip Walse Patil, Dharmarao Baba Atram, Aditi Tatkare, Anil Patil, and Sanjay Bansode.