After a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the NCP, led by Ajit Pawar, is fuming with anger against its allies. The party managed to win only one seat out of the four it contested and suffered a significant loss in the prestige battle of Baramati. As a result, Ajit Pawar skipped the meeting in Delhi to elect Narendra Modi as the leader of the NDA, sending Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel instead. One key reason cited for his absence is the perceived 'betrayal' in Baramati.
Party MLC Amol Mitkari stated that their alliance partners "definitely" did not help them in the key seats of Baramati and Shirur. In Baramati, Supriya Sule retained her seat by defeating Ajit Pawar's wife, Sunetra Pawar, while in Shirur, actor Amol Kolhe was re-elected against Shivaji Adhalrao Patil.
"Our alliance partners did not support us in Baramati and Shirur as we had expected. Ajit Dada alone was fighting on these seats. In Baramati, we failed to take a significant lead in Indapur. BJP's Harshvardhan Patil had garnered over 1 lakh votes in the assembly, but these votes did not reflect in this election. Similar issues occurred in Daund and Bhor. Except for Khadakwasala, we feel we did not get enough support from our alliance partners, and their votes did not transfer to us," Mitkari explained.
Mitkari mentioned that Ajit Pawar skipped the NDA meeting in Delhi because he was unhappy with the results and not in the mood to celebrate. "After such a humiliating loss, it's natural that someone (Ajit Pawar) would not be in a mood to celebrate. That's why he avoided going to Delhi for the NDA meeting. Even Devendra Fadnavis did not go. But Ajit Dada will definitely attend the oath-taking ceremony of PM Modi," Mitkari added.
When asked about reports of party MLAs reaching out to Supriya Sule and possibly switching allegiances, Mitkari clarified, "Naturally, people call to congratulate on poll victories. Some MLAs may have called Supriya Tai to congratulate her on her win. This does not mean they are ready to switch parties. People should avoid speculating over completely normal interactions," he said.