Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said here on Thursday that each constituent of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the state was eager to jump the ship and join hands with the BJP.
"A competition is underway among the constituents of the government as to who would be the first to leave the alliance and form a new government with the BJP," he claimed, speaking to reporters.
The MVA, comprising Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, was formed in 2019 after the Sena fell out with the BJP.
Commenting on NCP chief Sharad Pawar's claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted the BJP and Nationalist Congress Party to come together to form government in the state in 2019, Patil asked why Pawar took so long to reveal this if it was true.
"Modi and Pawar are very senior leaders, so for people like us it would be difficult to find out what conversation had taken place between them," he said.
"But if such an offer was ever made (by Modi), I do not think Pawar was so indecisive that he would reject it," the state BJP chief said.
It was not as if Pawar was known for always speaking the truth, he added. The way the MVA government had `harassed' BJP workers and MLAs, ordinary party workers like him were not inclined to join hands with any of the MVA constituents, but such decisions will be taken by the BJP's central leadership, Patil added.
The state BJP chief also criticized the MVA government for wrapping up the winter session of the legislature `without discussing the issues concerning common people'.
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Published 30 December 2021, 14:28 IST