Mumbai: Amid the buzz over NCP leader Ajit Pawar’s plans, a leader of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena said Wednesday that the party would welcome if he joined the Sena or the BJP, but if his loyalist MLAs followed suit, the Sena would quit the Maharashtra government.
Shinde Sena spokesperson and MLA Sanjay Shirsat claimed that Ajit Pawar did not want to remain in the NCP. “There is restlessness in the NCP right now, as there was restlessness in the Shiv Sena (undivided). (Ajit) Pawar doesn’t approve the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray and he does not wish to remain in the NCP. I feel that there is no free hand to Ajit Pawar in the party. If he leaves the NCP and joins BJP and Shiv Sena then we will welcome it,” Shirsat said. “However, if he joins with a section of MLAs, then we would not remain in the government.”
Shirsat said the Shiv Sena had seen how the NCP “betrayed its allies” and therefore his party would not share power with the NCP. “We decided to move out of the MVA government because people didn’t like us going with the Congress and the NCP. We left the Congress-NCP because we didn’t want to be with them,” he added.
Shirsat said that Ajit Pawar had been upset with the NCP since his son Parth lost the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
The MLA’s statement appeared to be a warning to the BJP amid speculation that Pawar is getting close to the BJP and may switch over.
Agencies

KR Desk