NCP founder Sharad Pawar on Thursday morning left for Delhi where the party’s National Executive meeting is scheduled for today. Sharad Pawar accused BJP of double standards and rebels in the Ajit Pawar camp of opportunism, but steered clear of personal attacks on his nephew. Despite a whip that made the presence of all MLAs mandatory, he was flanked by only 15 of his 53 legislators at his meeting on Wednesday; 3 more are said to have extended support but were not present.
In his speech which lasted over an hour, the NCP founder seemed unflustered by the rebellion, insisting that he led the “real” NCP and no one could take the party symbol away. He said the alliance with BJP would prove to be a misadventure. Pawar said these legislators must recall history. “Instates, where BJP has engineered a split or joined with regional parties, the government failed. In Punjab, while BJP was rejected, AAP replaced it. A similar situation was seen in Telangana, Andhra and Bihar.