Mumbai: The rift within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has deepened, with party president Sharad Pawar ruling out any possibility of reconciliation with the faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
"There is no question of reconsidering our decision regarding Ajit Pawar and those who joined him," Pawar said in a press conference today. "The decision to join the BJP-led government was theirs, and our position on them is clear," he added. He dismissed claims that there was unrest among MLAs who had joined the Ajit Pawar faction, saying, "I don't know whether there is any unrest among the MLAs, but there will be no reconsideration in our party regarding those who have taken the decision."
Meeting of Maha Vikas Aghadi: Pawar also spoke about the upcoming meeting of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the alliance of NCP, Congress, and Shiv Sena. "The meeting of Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena leaders will be held in Delhi today," he said. "The primary discussion in this meeting will be on seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," he added. "We believe that Prakash Ambedkar's Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and other left parties should also be included in this seat-sharing arrangement," Pawar said.
On the recent raids by central agencies on the premises of various MVA leaders, Pawar said, "Such things will continue to happen until the government in Delhi changes."
Pawar welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the remission of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case."The Supreme Court's decision is a relief to the common man," he said.