Pawar-Ajit rift comes to the fore

Pawar ticked off his nephew over use of saffron flags by the NCP.

There seems to be a clear rift between Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and his nephew and political heir in the state Ajit Pawar.

Ajit has said that he has no doubts about electronic voting machines and if it can be manipulated, the BJP wouldn’t have lost Assembly elections in three states. (HT FILE)

On Monday, Pawar ticked off his nephew over use of saffron flags by the NCP. “The decision over using saffron flags was taken by Ajit in his personal capacity and not by the party. Party’s decision is always collective,” Pawar said.

On August 23, at a rally in Parbhani, Ajit declared that the party will start using saffron flags in all its meetings and rallies along with its tricolour flag bearing party symbol — clock. The announcement was also seen as party’s indication to move towards “soft Hindutva”.

In the past four months, this is the second incident where the differences between the two are clearly visible.

In May, Ajit has said that he has no doubts about electronic voting machines and if it can be manipulated, the BJP wouldn’t have lost Assembly elections in three states.

His statement had come at the time when the NCP chief was leading a campaign against EVM manipulation. Ajit, however, made a U-turn in July, and said the upcoming state Assembly elections should be held through ballot papers instead of EVMs.

Pawar, meanwhile, slammed former NCP MP Udayanraje Bhonsle, who has recently left the party to join BJP.

“It took him 15 years to realise that he was facing injustice in the NCP,” the NCP chief said.

Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal skipped the meeting in Nashik on Monday. Pawar, however, defended him, saying

Bhujbal had arranged the meeting.