Thackeray camp upset over Sharad Pawar’s visit to Shinde’s office

Pawar had visited Shinde in his official chamber in Vidhan Bhavan, where he attended a meeting on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute convened by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Pawar also met his party MLAs in Shinde’s office, prompting Sena (UBT) leader and MP, Sanjay Raut, to call the visit “unwarranted”

MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena (UBT) says it is “hurt” by NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar’s visit to deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde’s office on Wednesday, highlighting fresh tensions within the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

Thackeray camp upset over Sharad Pawar’s visit to Shinde’s office

The episode also soon turned into a war of words. Shinde, with a touch of sarcasm, asked why some leaders couldn’t stomach such political diplomacy, a hallmark of Maharashtra’s political culture.

Pawar had visited Shinde in his official chamber in Vidhan Bhavan, where he attended a meeting on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute convened by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Pawar also met his party MLAs in Shinde’s office, prompting Sena (UBT) leader and MP, Sanjay Raut, to call the visit “unwarranted”.

“If you give traitors importance, then you have forfeited the right to speak against NCP leaders who left the party under the leadership of Ajit Pawar. Your party is fighting against that betrayal in court,” Raut said, in a remark aimed squarely at the 85-year-old NCP (SP) chief.

While clarifying that the Sena (UBT) was not questioning Pawar’s ideology, Raut asked why the veteran NCP (SP) leader had met his legislators in Shinde’s office. “Who is Shinde? Is he YB Chavan or Vasantdada Patil? Or is he Vilasrao Deshmukh,” asked Raut. “Such meetings put a question mark on the credibility of top leaders.”

If NCP (SP) leaders had held a similar meeting at the office of the late Ajit Pawar, who had split the NCP in 2023, they would have been accused of acting against the MVA, Raut argued. “The MVA allies should follow some rules,” he said.

Shinde chose to address the issue himself, hitting back at Raut. Underlining that Pawar is a towering leader in Maharashtra, he said he naturally welcomed him at Vidhan Bhavan. “This is the political culture in the state and we nurse it. But some people cannot stomach it. We have started many ‘Aapla Dawakhanas’ in Mumbai and Thane, and they can get treated there. We are ignoring these remarks.”

NCP (SP) state president Shashikant Shinde called Pawar’s visit a “courtesy call”. “One should not look at everything through the lens of politics. The meeting was held in Shinde’s cabin due to our leader Sharad Pawar’s health. It was not meant to convey a political message. Raut and his party should not misunderstand this. Shinde welcomed Sharad Pawar as a senior leader, there was nothing more to it.”