Maharashtra: BJP has given 'supari' to Ajit Pawar to end Sharad Pawar's political career, says Anil Deshmukh

Anil Deshmukh. File Pic

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh has said that Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has been given 'supari' (contract) by the BJP to end the political career of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, reported the PTI.

Anil Deshmukh, who belongs to the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, was addressing a press conference in Wardha district of Maharashtra on Thursday, as per the PTI.

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The NCP split in July after Ajit Pawar and eight other party MLAs joined the government of BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the state.

Anil Deshmukh said the whole of Maharashtra and India knows that Ajit Pawar and those with him hurriedly joined the government after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Bhopal imn Madhya Pradesh.

Days before the split in the NCP, Modi had accused the party of being involved in corruption of Rs 70,000 crore.

"Do you know why he (Ajit Pawar) took a different path? The senior NCP leaders didn't want to face the trouble I went through," said Anil Deshmukh, referring to his arrest in an alleged corruption case.

The NCP leader said the BJP has given 'supari' to Ajit Pawar to finish the political career of Sharad Pawar.

Replying to a query about Ajit Pawar's supporters' wanting to see him as the chief minister of Maharashtra, Anil Deshmukh said he was not aware of what has been decided among the ruling partners in the state.

"However, he (Ajit Pawar) is being sidelined from decision-making by the BJP in the government," he added.

Meanwhile, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction leader Praful Patel on Thursday said that it was a misconception that the two rival factions of the party would soon come together, reported the PTI.

Speaking at a news conference at the Nationalist Congress Party's two-day conclave in Karjat, Maharashtra, working president of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP also claimed that the majority of public representatives, functionaries and workers of the party supported Ajit Pawar's decision to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance, as per the PTI.

"There should be no confusion because some people in the (Sharad Pawar-led) NCP mislead people into believing that we are again coming together. I want to state it very specifically that we are working in the NCP under Ajit Pawar's leadership for Maharashtra's benefit," Praful Patel said, according to the PTI.

(with PTI inputs)