Former Deputy CM Ajit Pawar spills the beans on Congress plans in Maharashtra

Mumbai: In the wake of declaring unconditional support from outside to the Bharatiya Janata Party for government formation in Maharashtra, senior NCP leader and former deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Monday revealed that the Congress wanted the NCP to support the Shiv Sena in a bid to form a three-party government.

He also said that the offer came to the NCP from a senior Congress leader. Mr Pawar, however, chose not to disclose the name of the Congress leader.

Mr Pawar was elected leader of the legislative party in a meeting of newly-elected NCP MLAs that was held at the NCP headquarters in on Monday.
Along with him, former home minister R.R. Patil and senior leader Jaydutt Kshirsagar were elected as group leader and deputy group leader, respectively in the state Assembly.

Significantly, the NCP on Sunday had offered its unconditional support to the BJP from outside for the formation of government, citing that the move was in the interest of Maharashtra.

When asked about the uncalled support by the NCP, Mr Pawar said, “The Congress wants both of us to support Shiv Sena to form the government. A senior Congress leader called us asking to support the Shiv Sena jointly. Because it was not a formal proposal, nothing materialised later.”

Mr Pawar admitted that extending reservations to the Maratha and Muslim community didn’t work for the party as expected.

“If people have made up their minds, then nothing works beyond that. It seems people had decided BJP’s win in advance. Both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are proof,” he said, regarding the populist decisions.