Ajit Pawar defects: recalling Sharad Pawar's remarks on nephew's 2019 rebellion

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said "certain things were done" after the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections to expose the BJP and show how far it can go to gain power.

The veteran politician was responding to reporters' questions about BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis's claim that Pawar had agreed to form government with the BJP but backed out at the last moment.

Reacting to Pawar's latest statement, Fadnavis said he was glad that the NCP chief finally "admitted the truth", and more such disclosures would follow.

It was true that BJP leaders had met the NCP leadership and had discussions on several things, Pawar said here.

"But he (Fadnavis) himself said yesterday that I changed the decision (to go with the BJP) two days earlier (before the swearing-in) ...If I had changed the decision, what was the reason for going ahead and taking the oath of office, and that too so discreetly in the early morning," the NCP chief asked.

"Had they (Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar) had the NCP's support, wouldn't the government have survived? The government fell, and he had to resign," Pawar further said.

"Certain things were done (at that time) to expose before the public how far they (BJP) can go for power....There was a need to bring out that they could not live without power," the NCP chief said cryptically.

His father-in-law (Test player Sadu Shinde) was a googly bowler, and he himself (Pawar) was the chairman of the ICC, he said, adding, "so, without playing cricket, I knew where and when to bowl a googly." Pawar also said that instead of making unnecessary statements, Fadnavis, who is also home minister, should focus on ensuring women's security in the state.

Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis in a recent interview to a news channel claimed that Pawar had agreed to form government with the BJP in 2019. But the NCP supremo backed off after three-four days, he claimed.

After the 2019 Assembly elections in Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (then undivided) snapped ties with the long-term ally BJP over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post.

Later, Fadnavis was sworn in as chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar as his deputy in a hush-hush early morning ceremony at the Raj Bhawan, but the government lasted only 80 hours.

Thackeray subsequently formed alliance with the NCP and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government (MVA) which collapsed last June.

Reacting to Pawar's statements, Fadnavis told reporters on Thursday that he was very happy that Pawar had to tell the truth finally.

"I feel my googly has resulted in the truth coming out, but it is only a partial truth. I will bring out the remaining part of the truth,” the BJP leader said.

It was Pawar's own nephew Ajit Pawar who "got clean bowled" due to the NCP chief's actions in 2019, he said, adding, "I will slowly bring out the truth from him (Pawar) only.”