Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said that NCP chief Sharad Pawar holds a greater leadership stature than Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, and other political figures (in the Opposition). The statement came just two days before the upcoming meeting of opposition parties in Patna on June 23.During the 24th Foundation Day event of the NCP in Mumbai, Ajit Pawar emphasized the importance of self-reflection and the willingness to adapt if necessary, reported news agency PTI. He posed a question, stating, "If Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Jagan Mohan Reddy, N Chandrababu Naidu, K Chandrasekhar Rao, and Nitish Kumar can win their respective states independently, why can't the NCP strive to achieve this goal of winning Maharashtra on its own merits? After all, Sharad Pawar is a greater leader than all of them.
He further stressed the need for introspection and the potential for implementing changes within the party. It is noteworthy that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which also includes the faction of Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray and the Congress party. The highly anticipated gathering of 17 opposition parties is scheduled to take place in Patna on June 23. At the event, Ajit Pawar asked the party leadership to relieve him from the responsibility as Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly. He requested the party leadership to assign him an organisational role. Ajit Pawar's request comes just days after NCP chief Sharad Pawar entrusted the responsibility of Maharashtra to his daughter and MP Supriya Sule by appointing her as a working president. Praful Patel was also elevated to the post of working president.Ajit Pawar took charge as the Leader of the Opposition last July after the MVA government, in which he was deputy chief minister, collapsed due to a rebellion in Shiv Sena.