Sharad Pawar Declines Offer To Serve In PM’s Cabinet, Stated “I’m Seniormost…”

The veteran politician has refuted rumours that he has been given a seat as a Union Minister in exchange for leaving the INDIA group and joining the BJP as tensions inside the Maharashtra opposition alliance over a meeting between Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar mount.

More than a month after Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP leaders joined the Eknath Shinde-led, BJP-supported administration, the meeting was held on Saturday at the home of a businessman in Pune. Since then, a power struggle between the two factions over the NCP has erupted.

The encounter gave rise to rumours that Ajit Pawar was attempting to get Sharad Pawar, a prominent figure in the opposition’s INDIA alliance, to change his allegiance. Later, Mr. Pawar claimed that certain “well-wishers” were attempting to persuade him to join forces with the BJP but he had no such intention.

Mr. Pawar responded this morning when asked about Mr. Chavan’s remark, “I have no idea what the former CM stated. No such conversation took place. I don’t deny that the meeting took place, but in my capacity as the family’s head, I speak to everyone in the family. There is no truth to any of these rumours; they are all just rumours.

The veteran questioned, “I am the most senior person in the party who will make me an offer.

Mr. Pawar had previously emphasised that since Ajit Pawar is his nephew, their meeting is only normal.

The coalition between the Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has become uneasy as a result of the meeting. Mr. Pawar is the “Bhishma Pitamaha” of Maharashtra politics, according to Sanjay Raut, an MP and advisor to Uddhav Thackeray, and he “should not do anything that creates doubt in the minds of people.”

The alliance’s internal conflict is undesirable, especially as the next INDIA bloc conference in Mumbai approaches. The meeting will take place on August 31 and a sabha will be convened the next day, according to Mr. Pawar’s confirmation today.

He charged the BJP with attempting to polarise the populace.

In a recent circular regarding CBSE, the national government declared that August 14 would be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day. This government has published this circular as the society works to overcome the resentment we felt at the time. It is obvious that they seek to polarise society and sow discontent among the public,” he stated.

The veteran politician further said that the BJP was attempting to topple legitimately elected governments. He cited Goa, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra as examples of places where they upset the political system.

It has been over 99 days, Mr. Pawar added in reference to the Manipur issue. Three minutes of the PM’s speech outside of Parliament and only five minutes of his speech in opposition to the motion of no-confidence were devoted to Manipur.

“I had hoped that the prime minister would address this in his speech on August 15, but it appears that he is following Devendra Fadnavis’ lead by saying, “Mi Punha Yein” (I will return). He cares more about how he will get back than about the northeast, he said.

Before the 2019 Maharashtra elections, BJP leader and deputy chief minister Fadnavis’ “Mi Punha Yein” comment gained notoriety as the Shiv Sena, then led by Uddhav Thackeray, broke with the BJP and joined the NCP and Congress to form the government. Trolls then made fun of Mr. Fadnavis for being overconfident. When the Eknath Shinde-led insurrection overthrew the Uddhav Thackeray government, he at last retaliated, declaring that his form of retaliation was to pardon those who had mocked him.