'What’s wrong with meeting my nephew?': Sharad Pawar on ‘secret’ meeting with Ajit

NCP president Sharad Pawar's hush-hush meeting with his nephew Ajit Pawar has spun heads all around the political landscape of Maharashtra. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader defended this surreptitious family meeting, remarking sarcastically, "What is wrong with meeting my nephew?"

Sharad Pawar argued that it was a familial meeting, so there should not be any cause for political speculation or outcry. He believes that it is perfectly normal for members of a family to meet, irrespective of their professional and political affiliations.

Visuals aired by regional news channels showed Sharad Pawar arriving at the residence of the businessman in Koregaon Park area at around 1 pm. He left by around 5 pm. After nearly two hours, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was seen leaving the premises in a car at 6:45 pm while apparently trying to avoid cameras.

However, Sharad Pawar on Sunday clarified by saying, "I want to tell you a fact that he is my nephew. What is wrong with meeting my nephew? If a senior person in a family desires to meet another family member, there should not be any issue with that."

Despite the efforts of certain "well-wishers" to persuade him, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar has maintained unequivocally that his party will not unite with the BJP.

“As the national president of the NCP, I am making it clear that my party (NCP) will not go with the BJP. Any association with the Bharatiya Janata Party does not fit in NCP's political policy,” Sharad Pawar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

"Some of us (Ajit Pawar-led NCP group) have taken a different stand. Some of our well-wishers are trying to see if there can be any change in our stand. That is why they are trying to have a cordial discussion with us,” he said without taking names.

In a sudden development that stunned political circles in Maharashtra last month, Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government. The eight MLAs of NCP supporting him took oath as ministers. Out of 54 MLAs, the exact number of legislators supporting the groups led by the Pawar senior and Ajit Pawar is not known.

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