Lok Sabha Elections | Ajit Pawar, Bhujbal say ‘all well’ amid NCP’s dismal poll results and RS nominations

MUMBAI: Amidst the simmering discontent within the NCP, deputy chief minister and party leader Ajit Pawar has broken his silence and asserted that he is not upset that Chhagan Bhujbal was ignored in the Lok Sabha and denied his seat in the Upper House.

Meanwhile, Bhujbal defended his party leader Pawar and said he should not be held responsible for the election defeat of the NCP and the Maha Yuti government.

The party’s move gained momentum after the NCP decided to field Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar to the Rajya Sabha.

Sunetra Pawar lost the Lok Sabha election from Baramati to Supriya Sule, a sitting MP and daughter of NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar’s uncle and mentor.

“Bhujbal is not angry. He himself has made it clear on the matter. Sunil Tatkare (NCP Maharashtra unit chief) and current president Praful Patel have also made it clear on the matter. Some people have made it an issue,” Pawar said.

“The decision regarding the appointment was taken by a parliamentary committee after which the papers were submitted,” he said.

Regarding the absence of BJP and Shiv Sena leaders during the filing of nomination papers, he said, “Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis could not attend the filing of nomination papers due to the funeral of Mumbai Cricket Association president Amol Kher, who passed away after a heart attack. He had also informed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde the previous day that he would be filing his nomination papers.”

After Sunetra Pawar’s name was announced, Bhujbal said, “Yes, there were several aspirants and I too wanted to go to Rajya Sabha but a core group of party leaders called for sending Sunetra Pawar to Rajya Sabha and we all agreed.”

Earlier, Bhujbal had said, “We (NCP) were given only four seats out of 48 in the Lok Sabha elections. Of those four seats, two were lost. So, out of the two seats in Raigad and Baramati, one seat was won by us.”

“Now, will anyone say that we contested 48 seats and we managed to win only two? The BJP lost in other states too, including Uttar Pradesh. Nobody had expected the BJP to lose so many seats in Uttar Pradesh. So, it is not right to blame the Ajit Pawar faction,” he said.

It may be mentioned that Bhujbal was keen to contest from the Nashik seat but sitting Shiv Sena MP Hemant Godse refused to cede the seat.

Though Bhujbal, a brilliant orator, was keen to go to Rajya Sabha, the party decided to give it to Sunetra Pawar.

As part of the BJP-led outfit, the NCP contested four seats while giving one seat to RSP founder and Dhangar leader Mahadev Jankar, who lost in Parbhani constituency.

The NCP contested four seats – Baramati, Sirur, Raigad and Osmanabad.

The only seat the party won was in Raigad, where state NCP leader and incumbent MP Sunil Tatkare defeated Anant Gite of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).

In Baramati, Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) and incumbent MP, won for the fourth time, defeating Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar.

In Osmanabad, Shiv Sena (UBT) sitting MP Omprakash Raj Nimbalkar defeated NCP’s Archana Patil, daughter-in-law of veteran politician Dr Padamsingh Patil. Archana Patil is wife of BJP MP Rana Jagjitsinh Patil. Omraj and Rana Jagjitsinh are cousins. Sunetra Pawar is Dr Padamsingh Patil’s sister-in-law.

In Shirur, sitting MP Dr Amol Kolhe of NCP (SP) defeated Shivajao Adalrao Patil. Incidentally, Dr Kolhe of united NCP had defeated Adalrao Patil of united Shiv Sena in 2019. Patil was keen to contest and had to be accommodated by the NCP at the request of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.