No Question Of Forming Alliance With BJP, Ajit’s Statement ‘False’, ‘Misleading’: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has hit out at nephew Ajit saying there is no question of supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party to form government in Maharashtra. He also termed Ajit’s statement false, misleading and aimed at creating confusion. “There is no question of forming an alliance with @BJP4Maharashtra. NCP has unanimously decided to ally with @ShivSena & @INCMaharashtra to form the government,” Pawar tweeted. "Shri Ajit Pawars statement is false and misleading in order to create confusion and false perception among the people (sic)," he added.

The NCP chief said this while reacting to his nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s tweets that he was still with NCP and that the "BJP-NCP alliance" would provide a stable government in the state.

Ajit Pawar also changed his Twitter bio to 'Deputy Chief Minister, Maharashtra' and 'Nationalist Congress Party Leader'. “I am in the NCP and shall always be in the NCP and @PawarSpeaks Saheb is our leader,” he tweeted.

In another tweet, the nephew of party chief Sharad Pawar said the BJP-NCP alliance shall provide a stable government in Maharashtra for the next five years.

“Our BJP-NCP alliance shall provide a stable Government in Maharashtra for the next five years which will work sincerely for the welfare of the State and its people,” he tweeted.

Ajit Pawar’s tweets come soon after he, on Twitter, assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he would work hard for people of the state. NCP sources said this was an indication that the nephew of party chief Sharad Pawar had spurned all efforts to persuade him to rescind his shocking move to back the BJP.

PM Modi on Saturday congratulated Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar for taking oath as chief minister and deputy chief minister of Maharashtra respectively, and expressed confidence that the two will work for the state's development.

Responding to PM Modi's congratulatory message after his sudden swearing in as Dy CM on Saturday, Ajit Pawar in a tweet thanked the prime minister.

"Thank you Hon. Prime Minister @narendramodi ji. We will ensure a stable Government that will work hard for the welfare of the people of Maharashtra," he tweeted.

He also thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah, other central ministers Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani, Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal, BJP working president J P Nadda and other BJP leaders for their good wishes on his taking charge as the deputy chief minister.