Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar praised the decision of former Ministers Satish Patil and Gulabrao Deokar to join the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). In the presence of NCP (Ajit Pawar) National President and NCP(SP) leader Gulabrao Deokar, and others joined the party on May 4, reported IANS. Speaking with reporters outside the event, Ajit Pawar said, “Many leaders have joined the party. Those who have joined the party have worked in various positions - some are former MLAs. Some are officials associated with cooperative institutions. They have been welcomed wholeheartedly. Efforts are on to expand our party.” On the other hand, Minister Gulabrao Patil and Minister Girish Mahajan have opposed including leaders from the opposition, reported India Today.
It is believed that Ajit Pawar is attempting to increase his party's influence in northern Maharashtra by challenging the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), by inducting Deokar and Patil, who are rumoured to be close aides of Sharad Pawar. The former Jalgaon Guardian Minister Satish Patil, former MLAS Dilip Sonwane, Kailash Patil, and Sharad Patil were among the NCP leaders who joined Ajit Pawar's NCP in Mumbai under Deokar's leadership.
The Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, and the BJP have voiced their displeasure with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP inducting leaders from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, suggesting that there is a rift within the Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, reported India Today.
Maharashtra Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil strongly objected to it and expressed his disapproval of the inductions, claiming that they were not the "right thing to do." Patil specifically took issue with Gulabrao Devkar's inclusion in the Mahayuti, claiming that the latter ran against him in last year's elections from the Jalgaon Rural Assembly segment. In the state elections, Devkar lost to Gulabrao Patil in Jalgaon Rural by around 60,000 votes, reported India Today.
Girish Mahajan, the minister of water resources and disaster management for Maharashtra, added that these leaders' presence went against alliance protocol. According to the Mahayuti protocol, candidates who ran against us were not allowed to join the ruling coalition. "However, it appears that protocol is not being followed at the moment," Mahajan stated. "They were interested in attending our party. We chose not to accept them after talking with Gulabrao Patil," Mahajan continued. Senior BJP leader Girish Mahajan also cautioned that before allowing such opposition politicians to join the alliance, their credentials should be checked, reported India Today.