Pawar plans state tour from August 16, likely to visit rebel constituencies

Pawar’s tour is significant, as attempts for a reconciliation were made by the DCM. Ajit met senior Pawar thrice in a gap of four days and also insisted that the faction wanted Pawar to reconsider his decision

MUMBAI:Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar will set out on a statewide tour from August 16, putting an end to whispers in political circles of a possible patch-up with the breakaway faction, led by his nephew and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.

Thane, India - July, 08, 2023: Sharad Pawar was welcomed by NCP workers in Thane while he was visiting Yewla Nashik in Maharashtra on Saturday at thane check naka ,in Thane, in Mumbai, India, on,Saturday, July, 08, 2023. ( Praful Gangurde / HT Photo )

Pawar’s tour is significant, as attempts for a reconciliation were made by the DCM. Ajit met senior Pawar thrice in a gap of four days and also insisted that the faction wanted Pawar to reconsider his decision as “they did not want to split the NCP”. Eventually, each stopped attacking the other publicly, leading to speculations of the two coming together again.

The four-term chief minister had declared to go before the people to rebuild the party after the majority of the MLAs had decided to shift their loyalty to Ajit, who had rebelled against him and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government, earlier this month.

“The monsoon session of the Parliament is ending on August 11 and thus Pawar saheb has set August 16 as a tentative date for the tour,” said a senior NCP functionary, adding, it may be changed if necessary.

Pawar’s party leaders have chalked out two plans – one option is that he will visit specific constituencies of rebel NCP MLAs, starting with Ambegaon in Pune, while the other option is a tour of all the regions, beginning with Marathwada. Pawar will decide which plan to go with eventually. State cooperation minister and once a close confidante of Pawar, Dilip Walse Patil is a seven term MLA from Ambegaon constituency, who joined the Ajit faction and was also inducted as cooperation minister in the coalition government.

The logistics of the tour are being drawn up, said the senior party functionary.

After the rebellion, Pawar held his first rally in Yeola, Nashik, which is senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal’s constituency. Bhujbal was his long-time confidante, who now has the food and civil supplies portfolio in the coalition government after joining the Ajit camp.

Recently, Pawar loyalists questioned his silence against the rebel group, when they were invited for a dinner hosted by Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil at a five star hotel in Mumbai on Tuesday. “They were told Pawar saheb is firm on his stand of not supporting the BJP at any cost, and that they should brace themselves to face the three-party coalition,” said an NCP insider.

Meanwhile, Ajit faction is continuing to woo more MLAs to join the faction. Many of the

legislators who were in a two minds are looking to join Ajit. It was for the same reason that Ajit, who is also holding the finance portfolio, allocated funds for development works in the constituencies of MLAs who are still with senior Pawar.