Sharad Pawar gave nod for BJP-NCP govt in 2019, says rebel camp

NCP chief Sharad Pawar initially allowed his nephew Ajit Pawar to form a government with the BJP after the 2019 elections, but later changed his decision, according to Anil Patil, chief whip of the rebel faction. Patil made the statement during his cross-examination in the NCP MLAs' disqualification hearing. The hearing is set to conclude on January 31, with a verdict expected by February 15.

It was Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar who had given a go-ahead to his nephew Ajit Pawar to form a government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the assembly elections in 2019 but later changed his decision without consulting anyone, Anil Patil, chief whip of the rebel faction, said on Monday.

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Patil was responding to Sharan Jagtiani, counsel for the Sharad Pawar camp, during his cross-examination before assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on the fourth day of the NCP MLAs’ disqualification hearing.

“In 2019, Sharad Pawar himself gave the green signal to Ajit Pawar to form a government with the BJP. But he later unilaterally changed his decision, and the party accepted it and followed it. Since then, there had been unrest in the party and finally on the day of the party meeting at Shanmukhanand hall on June 21, leaders and party workers decided that all should meet Ajit Pawar and stand by him,” Patil said.

He added that after the June 21 meeting, he went to his constituency and returned to Mumbai on June 29 a day before the meeting with Ajit Pawar. “I was not physically present in the discussions about the meeting on June 30. But from June 22 to June 29, I was in contact with several party leaders and MLAs and was part of the discussions over the phone. During these discussions, the date of June 30 was finalised.”

When Jagtiani asked Patil about the names of leaders who he spoke to, he took the names of MP Sunil Tatkare, Dilip Walse-Patil, and Chagan Bhujbal.

When the counsel further asked if he had ever expressed his opinion, Patil replied he was told by senior leaders that Sharad Pawar was the party supremo, and he took the final decision, and everyone had to follow it.

Jagtiani asked 128 questions to Patil in the day-long session that started at the central hall of the state legislature building around 10.30 am and ended at 4.20 pm.

Narwekar asked both the factions to submit their responses to the submissions on Tuesday when the final argument will begin. The speaker also said the hearing would conclude on January 31.

On Monday, the Supreme Court extended the deadline for the verdict by Narwekar to February 15.