Ajit Pawar MIA in phase 5, may attend Modi rally Friday

Said to be sulking over getting fewer seats, the NCP chief has been absent from the campaign for the 5th phase of the election

Mumbai: While the campaign is on for the last phase of voting in Maharashtra, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar is missing in action, leading to speculation that he is unhappy in the ruling alliance.

Ajit Pawar was notable with his absence at the Modi roadshow in Mumbai on Wednesday (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

The NCP chief has been absent from the campaign for the 5th phase of the election. He is said to be sulking over getting fewer seats. On Thursday, NCP said that Ajit Pawar was down with throat infection and is likely to attend the last rally of the ruling alliance to be held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mumbai on Friday.

Ajit Pawar held a public rally for sitting BJP MP of Ahmednagar, Sujay Vikhe Patil on May 10. Since then he has not been seen in any public programme. When all the NDA allies were present in Varanasi for PM Modi who filed his nomination on May 14, Ajit was absent. His party was represented by senior leader Praful Patel.

The next day, Modi held a rally in Dindori for union minister Bharat Pawar and then a roadshow at Ghatkopar in Mumbai but Ajit Pawar was not in the scene even as chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis accompanied Modi.

NCP was allotted only four seats though it aspired to initially contest from 12 seats. Ajit Pawar is known to go incommunicado whenever he is unhappy. “We were looking at eight seats and later six seats at least but got only four as the fifth seat (Parbhani) was taken by Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP). We fear they will do similar arm-twisting in the assembly polls too,” said an NCP leader.

Incidentally, NCP founder Sharad Pawar was the first person who disclosed to the media in Nashik that the deputy chief minister is not well. “According to my information, he is not well,” said Pawar, replying to a question about Ajit Pawar going incommunicado in Nashik on Thursday.

Within a few hours, the party chief spokesperson Umesh Patil informed the media that the NCP president is suffering from a throat infection. “He is neither unreachable nor sulking. During the election campaign, he was infected with a throat infection. He is taking precautions as such infections can be communicable. If allowed by the doctor he will participate in the election campaign from tomorrow,” Patil stated.

NCP was also reportedly disappointed over power sharing in state government. It was expecting 12 berths in the ministerial council but got only eight. The issue over appointments of guardian minister positions for Raigad and Nashik district is yet to be resolved while appointments for boards and corporations are still pending.