Bolstered by the Election Commission's ruling recognising his faction as the real NCP, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday asked the youth wing to give a befitting reply to those who criticise him or the party on social media. Adding a word of caution, he underlined that they should retort in such a way that the party's image is not maligned.
Ajit urged to not portray him as chief ministerial candidate
Addressing the 'Yuva Mission 2024' function in Pune, Ajit further urged to not portray him as the chief ministerial candidate, instead work for strengthening the party. The statement assumes more significance as his ambition to become the head of the state has never remained hidden. Moreover, his heavyweight peers like Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde have even batted for making him the CM. Several instances have occurred wherein 'enthusiastic' party workers have erected banners, hailing Ajit Pawar as the future CM.
“Youth should strive for the party. The Lok Sabha elections will be held in two months and the model code of conduct will come into force the next month. Our Mahayuti candidates should win the elections and the NCP workers should help them to secure victory,” appealed the deputy CM. He underlined that youths should respect the majority, while electing new leaders and refrain from favouring them on the basis of relationship and caste. He urged the gathering to “tell people why Ajit and 45 MLAs have taken a different view, and joined Mahayuti”. Defending his act of jumping ships, he said, “Senior leader Pawar was not understanding our views. He was only pretending that he was listening to us.”
Taking the argument forward, Bhujbal appealed to leaders, who are with Sharad Pawar, to join the Ajit-led NCP. “If youths in such a huge number are supporting Ajit then old friends should ALSO rethink to join him.” During the event, NCP also elected Dhananjay Munde as star campaigner for the upcoming elections.
