Sanjay Raut alleges Ajit Pawar-led NCP poaching Sharad Pawar’s faction

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday accused the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of attempting to poach leaders from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction by offering them Union cabinet positions.

Raut’s comments followed a statement by NCP leader Amol Mitkati, who claimed some Lok Sabha members from Sharad Pawar’s faction were in touch with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Jitendra Awhad, an MLA and former state minister from the Sharad Pawar faction, also alleged that Sunil Tatkare, the state chief of Ajit Pawar's NCP, urged MPs from their faction to "leave the father and daughter" and join them, referring to Sharad Pawar and his daughter, Supriya Sule.

Raut further alleged that senior NCP leaders Praful Patel and Tatkare had been tasked with orchestrating defections within the Sharad Pawar-led group. Currently, Ajit Pawar’s faction has only one Lok Sabha MP, Sunil Tatkare, while the Sharad Pawar faction holds eight seats.

Raut claimed the Ajit-led NCP would only secure Union government posts if they could attract defectors from Sharad Pawar’s group. When questioned about the possibility of the two NCP factions reuniting, Awhad dismissed the idea, citing Tatkare’s alleged efforts to woo their MPs as evidence of his unwillingness for reconciliation.

Awhad suggested that rumors of a potential reunion between the factions were intended to pressure BJP ally Nitish Kumar by signaling that the BJP could gain support from other political quarters.