1 week Ago
Pune: Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in a last-minute development on Sunday cancelled his scheduled public rally in Purandar and travelled to Mumbai instead for a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah. The move comes against the backdrop of both NCP and Shiv Sena in the Mahayuti alliance nominating candidates for the Purandar seat in the upcoming assembly election. Ajit Pawar was scheduled to address his first public meeting for his party's candidate, former IAS officer Sambhaji Zende, on Sunday evening.
A senior NCP functionary, on the condition of anonymity, said that the scheduled public meeting in Purandar was postponed and a revised date is yet to be finalised. Earlier, former state minister Vijay Shivtare, who is Shiv Sena's nominee for the Purandar seat, had claimed that he is the official candidate of Mahayuti here, adding that "Zende should tell people that unlike Nawab Malik, he is the NCP's candidate and not the one supported by the Mahayuti". In a similar tussle, Malik is contesting on an NCP ticket from the Mankhurd-Shivajinagar constituency, where Shiv Sena has also fielded its candidate with support from BJP.
Earlier on Friday, Ajit Pawar, while addressing party workers in Pimpri, had said, "I have received information that it has been decided (by Mahayuti alliance partners) to support a candidate of Shiv Sena's symbol in Purandar. However, but I am yet to speak to all the associates — and an appropriate decision will be taken." Shivtare, who had vowed to defeat Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar during the recently held Lok Sabha election from Baramati, said he was promised candidature of Mahayuti by CM Eknath Shinde in the presence of Ajit Pawar in Purandar.
At the time, Shivtare withdrew from the LS poll race following intervention of Mahayuti top brass. On Sunday, while reacting to Ajit Pawar's public meeting in Purandar, Shivtare told reporters, "I am being patient because of CM Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis to avoid a further rift in the Mahayuti. However, if I act in ‘Baramati style', the one who is causing this all will not be able to show his face anywhere.
" He added that although NCP's candidate Zende worked to defeat Sunetra Pawar during the LS election, he is still being nominated by his party for Purandar seat. Meanwhile, the MVA has unanimously nominated sitting MLA from Congress Sanjay Jagtap for the Purandar seat. During the assembly election in 2019, Ajit Pawar had vowed to defeat Shivtare in a public rally organised for Jagtap, who was the official candidate of the Congress-NCP (undivided) alliance at the time.
After Shivtare lost, the video of this rally was widely circulated on social media platforms by Ajit Pawar's supporters. On Sunday, Ajit Pawar also held a public rally earlier in the day for the Bhor candidate. During his address in the constituency, he said party workers should follow discipline and support the alliance candidate chosen.
He was referring to two rebels — including one each from BJP and Shiv Sena — who filed their nominations as independents from Bhor constituency, where NCP's Shankar Mandekar is the official candidate of Mahayuti..
