Ajit Pawar, other Maharashtra NCP ministers meet Sharad Pawar in Mumbai

Ajit Pawar. File Pic

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar along with some other ministers from his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) camp met NCP president Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Sunday, a close associate of the deputy CM told news agency PTI.

This was the first meeting between Sharad Pawar and the group-led by Ajit Pawar after he rebelled against his uncle and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2.

According to PTI, Ajit Pawar along with NCP ministers Hasan Mushrif, Chhagan Bhujbal, Aditi Tatkare and Dilip Walse Patil met Sharad Pawar at the Y B Chavan Centre located near the state secretariat 'Mantralaya'.

Sources from the Sharad Pawar camp told PTI that NCP state president Jayant Patil and party leader Jitendra Awhad had also reached the Y B Chavan Centre.

On Friday, Ajit Pawar visited Silver Oak, the official residence of the NCP supremo, to meet the latter's wife Pratibha Pawar after she underwent a surgery at a hospital in Mumbai.

Ajit Pawar is known to be close to his aunt Pratibha. In 2019, she reportedly played a crucial role in bringing him back to the NCP fold after he and Devendra Fadnavis formed a short-lived government after the Assembly polls.

On Saturday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said that he is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 18 and will raise the issues faced by farmers in the state during the meeting.

Pawar, who bagged the key Finance and Planning portfolio on Friday, said he and other Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs who joined the Eknath Shinde-led government on July 2, were happy with the allocation of portfolios.

Speaking during a media interaction, Pawar said, "I will meet PM Narendra Modi on July 18. During the meeting, I will take up various issues related to farmers with him. (NCP leader) Praful Patel and I will attend the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting."

Asked about Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut's reported claim that as the Shinde-led faction was not willing to part with the finance portfolio, it was asked to give up the CM's post, the NCP leader said, "I don't know. This is an attempt to disturb the atmosphere unnecessarily. We are happy with the portfolio allocation."

There are around 14 vacant positions (in the cabinet) and expansion of the cabinet is the chief minister's prerogative, he said.

"The CM will decide, I will not speak about it," Pawar said in response to a query about the cabinet expansion.

There are now 28 cabinet ministers in the Shinde-led government but no minister of state. The ministry can have a maximum of 43 members. There was speculation that the state ministry expansion would also happen on Friday, but it did not take place.

(With inputs from PTI)