Ajit Pawar calls himself NCP chief, defends move to join Shinde-led govt

Mumbai: Ajit Pawar, who heads one of the factions of the NCP, on Tuesday described himself as the party’s national president and defended his move of joining the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, saying several top politicians took “different” stands in the political history of the state.

In a statement issued to mark the completion of his 100 days in office as the state deputy chief minister, he called Maharashtra’s first chief minister late Yashwantrao Chavan as his source of inspiration. However, he did not mention the name of his uncle and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar. Sharad Pawar, 82, considers Yashwantrao Chavan as his political mentor.

Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister of the state on July 2, the day he joined the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government along with eight other NCP MLAs. In the statement, Pawar, who described himself as the national president of the NCP, said employment, economic empowerment of all sections of the society, education, health, implementation of all welfare measures were the priority of the government.

The Election Commission is currently hearing the matter related to the split within the NCP. On Monday, it heard the claims of the Ajit Pawar-led faction over its claim on the NCP’s name and poll symbol.

The EC fixed November 9 as the next date for hearing. Ajit Pawar, who had moved the EC staking claim to the party’s name and poll symbol, submitted that he had the support of 42 of the 53 NCP MLAs in Maharashtra, six of the nine MLCs, all seven MLAs in Nagaland and one member each in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.