Maharashtra BJP minister Nitesh Rane has claimed NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar had been in touch with the saffron party leaders, an assertion dismissed by the opposition legislator, reported news agency PTI.

Rane also claimed that though Rohit Pawar is part of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), "his heart lies with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)".

Rohit Pawar, the grandnephew of Sharad Pawar and MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed in Ahilyanagar, dismissed Rane's claim, saying one should not speak when "he himself is stuck in the mud", reported PTI.