‘Kept Father in the Dark’: Supriya Sule on Events of 2 July Before Ajit’s Coup

"In the past too, senior leaders have left the party, but it was never a secret," Supriya Sule said.

Three days after Ajit Pawar declared a war against Sharad Pawar by splitting the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and taking oath as the new deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, both factions issued whips to their respective supporting MLAs to attend 'party meetings' called by the respective chiefs.

While the show of strength by both factions unfolded in Mumbai with still no clarity on the exact number of MLAs supporting Ajit Pawar, NCP leader Supriya Sule in an interview detailed the events that took place on the morning of 2 July ahead of her cousin's oath-taking ceremony.

In a conversation with to The Times of India (TOI), the NCP working President and Sharad Pawar's daughter said that she did attend the meeting of MLAs called by Ajit Pawar on Sunday assuming that it was to discuss the elections to the party president of the state since Ajit had expressed his wish to resign as the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly and wanted a post in the party.

Here's what Sule said:

• Sule claimed that she was in the dark about her cousin Ajit Pawar's decision to join the ruling alliance in Maharashtra and held talks with Ajit Pawar "for a long time" before MLAs started pouring in for the meeting.

• "Indeed, I am disappointed. In the past too, senior leaders have left the party, but it was never a secret. They met Pawar and explained their reasons for leaving the organisation and he did not stop them. I am not surprised, but I am shocked."

• The move could have been done in a more dignified manner, instead of keeping her father in the dark, she told TOI.

• She refuted claims of Sharad Pawar having orchestrated the split, adding that he would not have launched a state-wide agitation to revive the party in that case.

• "Sharad Pawar has acted swiftly, disqualification proceedings have been initiated against Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare."

Sule, who was often touted as the next-in-line to take over the NCP, was recently appointed the working president of the NCP, along with Praful Patel.

The announcement of the two posts, which were seen as a snub to Ajit Pawar, was made just weeks after Sharad Pawar's bid to resign as the party chief. He withdrew his resignation following uproar by party workers.

(With inputs from TOI.)