Sharad Pawar remains in touch with top brass, BJP says internal issue

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the ally of the BJP, had made it clear that it would walk out of the government if NCP group joins

Amid the fast-changing political situation in Maharashtra involving the moves of Maharashtra’s Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar, the ruling BJP stayed clear of it saying that it was an “internal issue” of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP.

The developments have shaken the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the anti-BJP coalition, crafted by Pawar.

The junior Pawar, according to reports, was in touch with the BJP leadership and was ready to join the saffron party individually or as a group from the NCP.

The Pawar uncle-nephew, however, has denied any such thing.

Read | Gautam Adani meets Sharad Pawar amid Oppn's demand for JPC probe into Hindenburg-Adani row

On the other hand, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the ally of the BJP, had made it clear that it would walk out of the government if the NCP group joins though it was not against junior Pawar joining or supporting the dispensation.

Meanwhile, on Friday, the Mumbai NCP unit is holding a camp, in which top leadership would be present. However, the junior Pawar, who is a former four-time former Deputy Chief Minister, would be in Pune for two-day engagements.

“It is purely an internal matter of the NCP,” state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule told reporters in Nagpur on Thursday.

Top leaders of the NCP, over the past three days, had met the uncle and nephew separately. But what transpired in these meetings is not yet known.

On being asked about the NCP-related developments, former Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray refused to comment.