A Day After Split, Sharad Pawar & Ajit Pawar Debate Who's the Real NCP

While Ajit Pawar faction 'requested' Sharad Pawar to concede, parallel attempts to take over the party were clear.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) workers remove a photo of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar from the party office as part of a protest, in Solapur, Monday, July 3, 2023.

(Photo: PTI)

"Have you forgotten Sharad Pawar?" snapped Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar at a reporter on Monday, 3 July, after being asked about who the new national president of the party was.

While many are drawing parallels of the split in the NCP to that of the Shiv Sena exactly a year ago, there is one striking difference between the two. Unlike Eknath Shinde and his supporters who launched an all-out attack on Uddhav Thackeray, Ajit Pawar's faction is still seeking Sharad Pawar's "blessings."

"It is Guru Poornima today. Pawar saheb is our guru so we seek his blessings," Chhagan Bhujbal said.

The remarks of Ajit Pawar and other leaders on the NCP supremo on the make evident the faction's strategy of not being seen as a rebel like Shinde and his supporters, but as those who still want the party supremo on board with the decision of joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

However, parallel attempts to take over the party were clear.

Hours after Sharad Pawar addressed the media to clearly state that "Ajit Pawar is not the party," the latter addressed the media to announce a new appointments at party posts, including 'replacing' Jayant Patil as the state party chief with Sunil Tatkare.

Through the day, the warring factions made statements on scores of issues including the party name and symbol, the powers of Jayant Patil, the disqualification proceedings, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Here's breakdown of the issues and the statements both factions made on them: 

On Real NCP

Sharad Pawar:

"Ajit Pawar is not the party. My daughter (Supriya Sule) also went to the meeting but that does not mean she did something wrong."

Ajit Pawar:

"Whenever such situations have emerged in parties, the final decision on the same has been taken by the Election Commission on the name and symbol. We are moving ahead with the belief that we are the party. Majority MLAs are with us."

On Number of MLAs

Sharad Pawar:

"As many MLAs as we have, all are present here. We have not attempted to show any strength. Strengths increase and decrease, I have faced this multiple times before."

Praful Patel:

"Ajit Pawar and other leaders would not have taken oath yesterday if we did not have the numbers. We are the party, so we don't need to tell the numbers. Those who are asking for numbers should first clarify how many people support them."

On Expulsion of Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare

Sharad Pawar: 

"I, as the National President, Nationalist Congress Party hereby order removal of the names of Shri Sunil Tatkare and Shri Praful Patel from the Register of Members of NCP Party for anti-party activities," he tweeted.

Praful Patel:

NCP MP Praful Patel replied a plain "no" when he was asked if the decision to expel him and Sunil Tatkare from the NCP was applicable.

"The reason is that we believe that vast majority of the NCP has backed yesterday's decision. Hence, any decision taken by a majority in a democracy cannot be deemed invalid," he said.

On Disqualification Proceedings

Sharad Pawar:

"I don't know about any proceedings yet, but if Jayant Patil has taken a decision, it must be correct."

Ajit Pawar:

"We can see messages circulating and letters being sent to the Election Commission (EC) and the Assembly Speaker to request disqualification of certain leaders. We just want to clarify that the party cannot disqualify anybody, neither can the EC. Only the Speaker can initiate proceedings and it is a long process."

On Leader of Opposition

Sharad Pawar:

"The party that has the maximum numbers if the Opposition gets the Leader of Opposition (LoP) post. As per my knowledge, the Congress has maximum numbers so far. So, their demand for the post is valid."

Ajit Pawar:

"I know that new appointments have been made on the posts of LoP and the chief whip. I have years of experience in administration, I just want to clarify that it is the Speaker's job to appoint the LoP. While the House is in session, the Speaker appoints someone from the largest party as the LoP. Announcing such appointments merely to create fear within the NCP leaders (of Ajit faction) does not make sense."

On Jayant Patil

Sharad Pawar: 

"Jayant Patil is not just the state party chief, but he is also the leader of the NCP in the Assembly. If he has sent any letters in these capacities, that is his right. I don't know about the letters yet, I am hearing of this only from you. If he has, it must be right."

Praful Patel:

NCP MP Praful Patel announced that the faction has decided to 'replace' Jayant Patil and appoint Sunil Tatkare as the state party chief. While Tatkare is backing Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil is still backing Sharad Pawar.

On PM Modi

Sharad Pawar:

"What PM Modi said was not specifically about Ajit Pawar or anybody else but the NCP in general. He said that the NCP is corrupt and there are ample examples of it. These statements were made by the Prime Minister himself. But following that, the way he did not stop my most important colleagues from taking oath yesterday means that his allegations are baseless. The appointments proved that. Looking at that statement and the current situation, it shows that they have been cleared of all charges by the Centre itself."

Ajit Pawar:

"We will support the developmental work led by PM Modi across the country. We will take advantage of the support of the Centre for the betterment of the state — for funds, clearances, etc. We know how the people of the state have to unknowingly lag behind in terms of development if there are two different parties at the Centre and the state."