After Ajit’s claims, Oppn queries Adani’s role in MVA govt collapse

Leading the charge was Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, Uddhav Thackeray, who asked whether Adani had bankrolled the split in the Shiv Sena, which led to the fall of the MVA government

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s statement that a meeting had been held in the presence of industrialist Gautam Adani in Delhi to discuss how a government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could be formed during the crisis in 2019, has led the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to question whether Adani was also instrumental in the collapse of the MVA government in 2022. Leading the charge was Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, Uddhav Thackeray, who asked whether Adani had bankrolled the split in the Shiv Sena, which led to the fall of the MVA government.

After Ajit’s claims, Oppn queries Adani’s role in MVA govt collapse

Political circles have been abuzz ever since an interview of Ajit Pawar to The News Minute-Newslaundry was published on Tuesday. Here, Ajit Pawar, leader of the NCP, had claimed that a meeting had been held in Delhi in 2019, which was attended by Adani, Union home minister Amit Shah, Sharad Pawar, Devendra Fadnavis, Praful Patel and Ajit himself. He said Adani had sat through a series of such meetings in 2019, trying to forge alliances that would support a BJP-led government in Maharashtra.

This took place when, in a controversial early morning swearing-in ceremony, Ajit Pawar had been sworn in as deputy chief minister and Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister. The government lasted 80 hours, with Ajit returning to the then undivided NCP led by Sharad Pawar. In the interview, Ajit said that Sharad Pawar had given his consent to attend these talks but he (Ajit) was later blamed for teaming up with the BJP.

“It has been five years. Everyone knows where the meeting happened; that it happened in Delhi at a businessman’s house. Everyone knows it… All of it happened five years ago... Yes, there were five meetings. Everyone was there. Let me tell you again. Amit Shah, Gautam Adani, Praful Patel, Devendra Fadnavis and Sharad Pawar. Everyone was there. Everything was decided. The blame has fallen on me. I have taken the blame and let others be safe,” said Ajit in the interview to the portal.

However, on Wednesday, Ajit Pawar did a U-turn when quizzed by the media, saying “Adani was not there.” In an exclusive interview to Hindustan Times, he was silent on Adani but said that, following a demand by his MLAs, Sharad Pawar had set up a panel of three leaders comprising him (Ajit), Praful Patel and Jayant Patil to discuss a power-sharing deal with the BJP in 2019. However, it did not materialise, he claimed.

This is not the first time Ajit Pawar has spoken about these meetings in 2019. He referred to them after he broke away from the undivided NCP in 2023 and joined the ruling Mahayuti alliance government. He was pointing out how it was his uncle who had allegedly been hobnobbing with the BJP and he (Ajit) was merely following his mentor’s orders.

In the interview, when he was asked why Sharad Pawar himself did not cross over to the BJP camp, Ajit said: “No one can tell what is on Pawar saahab’s mind… Neither aunty, nor Supriya (Sule).”

On Wednesday, parties in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), except the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), linked Ajit’s disclosure of 2019 to developments in 2022 and 2023, when the Shiv Sena and NCP were split by Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, respectively. They questioned whether by Adani had played a role in these developments too.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said: “Who gave the money to pull down our government? Who was behind giving 50 khoke (a reference to allegations that ₹50 crore was given to each rebel Sena MLA)? After Ajit Pawar’s disclosure, people should have got an idea,” said Thackeray, at a campaign rally at Sawantwadi in Sindhudurg district. “There is an attempt to grab Mumbai, we won’t let that happen,” he said.

While Sharad Pawar was silent on the issue, his daughter and NCP (SP) working president, Supriya Sule, categorically denied any knowledge of the meeting. “Read my lips. I do not know about any such meeting. We had absolutely no idea about the early morning swearing-in plans,” she told the media. “Me and my party do not know anything about such meetings. Ajit Pawar should clarify about them.”

The Congress too criticised the BJP. “It is clear that the industrialist has been meddling in Maharashtra’s political affairs,” remarked opposition leader, Vijay Wadettiwar.

The ruling BJP and Shiv Sena were silent on Ajit Pawar’s statements. There was also no reaction from the Adani Group.