Supriya won Lok Sabha election, Praful Patel lost and still...: Sharad Pawar

Praful Patel on Saturday denied any statement against Supriya Sule and said he will always have the utmost respect for the Pawar family.

As the table turned in Maharashtra politics with Ajit Pawar's rebellion against uncle Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel who has joined Ajit's camp reportedly (in an interview that Praful Patel has now denied) said Supriya Sule has become the "fulcrum" of all Sharad Pawar's actions. Praful Patel and Supriya Sule were jointly made the working presidents of the party three weeks before the split. Praful Patel used to be the right-hand person of Sharad Pawar which triggered speculations that Ajit Pawar's rebellion had Sharad Pawar's 'blessings'. Read | ‘You felt like laughing?’ TMC MP Mahua Moitra attacks Praful Patel for mocking Oppn meet

As NCP splits, Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel are openly attacking each other though Praful Patel denied that he made any comment on Supriya Sule.

One week into the crisis and as Praful Patel reportedly accused Sharad Pawar of nepotism, Sharad Pawar said Praful Patel was given the union minister's post for 10 years and then he lost in the Lok Sabha election while Supriya Sule fought Lok Sabha elections and won. Even after Praful Patel lost the Lok Sabha seat, he was given a Rajya Sabha seat, Sharad Pawar said stepping up his attack.

Read | 'Na tired hu, na retired': Sharad Pawar quotes Vajpayee to counter 'ageist' Ajit

Praful Patel, however, denied making any statement against Supriya Sule. "I have never and would never speak anything defamatory about Shri Sharad Pawar and Smt Supriya Sule. I will always have the utmost respect for Pawar family," he tweeted on Saturday.

Sharad Pawar vs Praful Patel in the Pawar vs Pawar battle in NCP

1. Praful Patel joined the Ajit Pawar camp and was present at Ajit Pawar's swearing-in as the deputy chief minister.

2. Praful Patel maintained that there has been no split in the NCP and the numbers don't matter.

3. Praful Patel made a strong comment on opposition's unity in which Sharad Pawar is a key component. He said he 'felt like laughing' at the opposition meeting in Patna.

4. Praful Patel said Sharad Pawar's action against those who joined the Ajit Pawar camp is illegal.

5. In an interview with Indian Express, Praful Patel has been quoted as saying that the fulcrum of Sharad Pawar's actions is Supriya Sule. Praful Patel denied the comment though the publication stood by its reporting.

Praful Patel was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2000 and then again in 2006. He contested in the 2009 Lok Sabha election for the fourth term. In 2014, he lost in the Lok Sabha election and was again elected to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra in 2016. Praful Patel was the civil aviation minister from 2004 to 2011.