NCP leaders leave Ajit, return to Sharad Pawar camp

Several Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders and corporators returned to the Sharad Pawar camp on Wednesday, a day after resigning from the Ajit Pawar faction.

Former NCP Pimpri-Chinchwad unit chief, Ajit Gavhane, was among the leaders who joined Sharad Pawar’s faction at his residence in Pune.

Three other senior leaders of the NCP's Pimpri-Chinchwad unit -- Rahul Bhosale, Pankaj Bhalekar, and Yash Sane -- who quit the party on Tuesday also joined the founder's camp.

In reaction to this, NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule said that Sharad Pawar has been working for development in Maharashtra and at the Centre for the last 60 years, and even people from the opposition look at him with great hope.

"I think many people in the party have different experiences. We have always ensured that our ideology of development remains strong. Pawar sahab has been continuously working for development in Maharashtra and at the Centre for the last 60 years. We have faith in Pawar sahab's ideology, and at the same time, many people in the opposition also look towards him with great hopes, which is why people are joining him," Sule said, speaking to ANI on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Ajit Gavhane said that he along with some other party workers who have also resigned from their posts will be seeking blessings from the NCP founder.

"I resigned yesterday, and today all the ex-corporators will be holding a meeting to strategise our next moves. We will also take the blessing of Sharad Pawar," Gavhane said, speaking to ANI on Wednesday.

The Nationalist Congress Party split last year when Ajit Pawar led some MLAs and joined the ruling Eknath Shinde Sena and BJP government.

Gavhane claimed that the development work done by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation was different from that done by both Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar.

"If you look at Pimpri-Chinchwad, both Ajit dada and Pawar sahab had contributed to its development. But since 2017, the BJP has been ruling PPMC. The development work here was done in the wrong way, especially if you look at other constituencies. There was rampant corruption here, and the sitting MLA is responsible for it," Gavhane said.

Speaking about other party leaders who have resigned from their posts, Gavhane said, "Along with me, corporators like Rahul Bhosale, Pankaj Bhalekar, and Yash Sane have resigned."

When asked if he was interested in contesting the upcoming state assembly elections, Gavhane said, "Yes, I am interested in contesting the Vidhan Sabha elections."