E-Paper
Ajit Pawar travels to Delhi to meet Shah
The developments came two days after Ajit Pawar declared that he was still recovering from dengue and would not meet anyone for a few more days following the doctor’s advice
Mumbai: A month after he skipped the state cabinet meeting, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar again appears unhappy with the three-party coalition government in the state. On Friday, Pawar left for Delhi, where he met with NCP (Ajit faction) working president Praful Patel and state president Sunil Tatkare. The trio met union home minister Amit Shah at his official residence in the evening. Pawar also had a meeting with his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar in Pune prior to his departure for Delhi.
The developments came two days after Ajit Pawar declared that he was still recovering from dengue and would not meet anyone for a few more days following the doctor’s advice. This has led to speculations that Ajit Pawar is still not happy with the power-sharing arrangement in the state, as the faction led by him believes that the promises made to them are yet to be fulfilled and they want things to move faster.
“The cabinet expansion has not happened yet. The appointment on government run corporations and boards is still undecided, even though chief minister Eknath Shinde appointed Shiv Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar as the new chairman of Siddhivinayak temple trust on Tuesday,” said a senior NCP (Ajit faction) leader.
“All these issues need discussion and thus Ajit dada is meeting Amit Shah,” he stated.
Earlier, on Wednesday, Ajit Pawar posted a message on ‘X’ saying he was still feeling weak and had been advised complete rest. “For the past few days, I have been ill with dengue and on mandatory bed rest as advised by the doctor. My health is gradually improving, although there is still weakness and fatigue. It may take a few more days to fully recover,” he had posted.
Within two days of this, however, Ajit travelled to Pune to attend a family lunch at the residence of Prataprao Pawar, younger brother of Sharad Pawar. The senior Pawar’s daughter and Baramati parliamentarian Supriya Sule was also present at the gathering.
In Pune, Ajit Pawar had a one-hour long meeting with Sharad Pawar following their luncheon. “They all have common interests including business. Even if they are politically divided, they cannot part ways because of business interests,” said an NCP insider.
Initially it was claimed that the meeting was a courtesy call as Prataprao Pawar’s wife was unwell, but later, family members claimed it was a Diwali get together.
“It was a private family lunch,” Sule told reporters. “It was an annual get together lunch, where we just made jokes and inquired about each other’s health,” said Sharad Pawar’s sister Saroj Patil while leaving the residence of Prataprao Pawar. She refused to answer any political questions.
Meanwhile, NCP insiders said they were trying to schedule a meeting between Amit Shah and Ajit Pawar for the past one week, but Shah was busy with assembly polls in five states whereas Ajit was unwell.
Ajit has given many hints about his unhappiness with the ruling coalition in the past.
On October 3, he skipped the cabinet meeting to express his displeasure over delay in implementing the power-sharing formula. CM Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis met Shah the same evening and the very next day, a list of new guardian ministers for twelve districts – pending since July 2 – was announced.
Again, on October 25 when CM Shinde and Fadnavis went to meet Amit Shah to discuss Maratha reservation and other issues, Ajit Pawar chose to stay in Mumbai. When asked, he said he had no idea why they went to Delhi.
“I have been here in Mantralaya since morning. I don’t know anything about this,” he had told reporters.
As declared by his party, Ajit Pawar was diagnosed with dengue on October 28 and has not been keeping well since. He also skipped the cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, and Friday was his first public appearance after a gap of 13 days.
Stay updated with all the Breaking News and Latest News from Mumbai. Click here for comprehensive coverage of top Cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and more across India along with Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News.
