Is Ajit Pawar leaving Mahayuti? Sharad Pawar’s faction claims BJP wants to end alliance

After an RSS-affiliated weekly “Vivek” blamed the poor performance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections on its alliance with the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Sharad Pawar's faction has claimed that it was a subtle message to the deputy chief minister to leave the ‘Mahayuti’ alliance.

The report in the weekly 'Vivek' observed that public sentiment shifted dramatically against the BJP after its 2023 alliance with the NCP. Referring to the claims made in 'Vivek', NCP (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto said the BJP has realised the tie-up with Ajit Pawar will hurt its prospects in the Assembly elections. NCP suffered a split in 2023 when Ajit Pawar joined the Shinde-led government along with a section of party MLAs loyal to him.

"The fact of the matter is that the people of Maharashtra have voted largely in favour of the NCP (SP). The BJP is also trading cautiously in the whole issue because it wants to win the elections. But its alliance with deputy CM Ajit Pawar-led NCP is going to make them lose the elections, like in the Lok Sabha polls... the article in the weekly (Vivek) is one of the ways they are trying to distance themselves from Ajit Pawar and probably asking him to leave (Mahayuti) in one way or the other," Crasto claimed.

"The decision to bring Ajit Pawar on board has caused trouble for the BJP, resulting in the party losing several Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. This is the current reality in the electoral politics of Maharashtra. It seems the people have not accepted the BJP partnering with the NCP and, similarly, with Shinde-led Shiv Sena," he further said.

Crasto said the BJP is trying to send a message to Ajit Pawar's faction. 

WHAT DID THE WEEKLY SAY?

The weekly mentioned the discontent among the members of the BJP, saying “almost every person who is either in the BJP or affiliated to organisations (Sangh Parivar) cited that he does not approve of the BJP allying with the NCP (led by Ajit Pawar). Before writing this piece, we interacted with more than 200 industrialists, traders, doctors, professors and teachers. The unrest among the party cadre because the BJP allied with the NCP is the tip of the iceberg.”

The BJP's seat count in Maharashtra dropped drastically from 23 in 2019 to just nine in the recent Lok Sabha polls, with its ally Shiv Sena securing seven seats and the NCP, led by deputy CM Ajit Pawar, managing to win in just one constituency. In contrast, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), and the Congress, put up an impressive show and collectively won 30 out of the 48 seats.

(With inputs from PTI)