Hope Pawar now sleeps well: BJP on Jadhav's appointment

The opposition BJP today took a dig over the appointment of Bhaskar Jadhav as the new president of Maharashtra NCP, saying he had once given the party chief Sharad Pawar a sleepless night.

"When Jadhav (then a state minister) had made excessive expenditure during the wedding of his son and daughter, Pawar had said he could not sleep. Now, after appointing Jadhav, we wish Pawar a good sleep," state BJP chief Devendra Fadnavis quipped.

After the lavish wedding at Chiplun kicked up a controversy, as it took place in the middle of a severe drought in the state, Pawar had publicly expressed his disapproval. "I could not sleep the whole night when I saw the visuals of the wedding on TV," he had said.

Jadhav, who was dropped from ministry, was today made president of state unit, while MLA Jitendra Awhad was made working president.

BJP ally Shiv Sena said both Jadhav and Awhad had influence over limited areas. "It is difficult to say that their appointments will have much impact. The party does not run on two persons," Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said.

"We would say it is old medicine in new bottle, as they have also included (former minister) Gulabrao Devkar in the party's core committee," Gorhe added.