NEW DELHI: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday justified his decision to align with Sharad Pawar’s faction of the NCP ahead of the upcoming local body polls in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.In an interview with news agency ANI, Pawar said a joint election strategy was decided after it was learnt that votes would split if workers of both factions contested against each other.He, however, added that his decision would not affect his equations with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.NCP–NCP(SP) reunion“I view it very positively,” Pawar said about the alliance between the NCP and the NCP (SP).“It was because of the efforts of the workers that a joint election strategy was decided upon in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The workers knew that if they contested against each other, the votes would be split. That was something they wanted to avoid at all costs. The workers wanted to win the election… Some people from both parties tried to find a solution,” he added.When asked whether both factions of the NCP would merge in the future, Pawar said, “We haven’t thought about that yet because today is the last day of campaigning, so we are focusing more on ensuring that the voting takes place properly. That’s why we haven’t thought about it from that angle.”He added that such a decision could only be taken after leaders of both sides are taken into confidence, and not just workers. “Not just karyakartas, we need to talk to other leaders too because the party is functioning with them, and they have to talk with their leaders.”“Not just party workers, but we will have to discuss with both party leaders. Leaders run the party, so we need to have discussions first,” he added.Cracks within Mahayuti?During the interview, Pawar also dismissed reports of rifts with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis after his decision to join hands with Sharad Pawar’s faction.“No, it will not be affected. 100%, it will not happen,” Pawar said, referring to differences between him and the chief minister.He also justified his decision to part ways with the NDA for the local body polls. Recalling how the NCP and Congress allied for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections but contested local body polls separately, he said a similar situation existed between the BJP and the Shiv Sena as well.“Since I’ve been in politics, in all the elections we’ve fought since 1999, we had an alliance with the Congress. We were working together in the Lok Sabha, in Parliament, and fighting elections together. We were fighting on our respective symbols. The same thing happened in the Assembly elections. But in local body elections, to support and empower our respective party workers, we always fought against each other,” Pawar said.“The same thing happened with the BJP and Shiv Sena. In the 2017 elections in Mumbai and Thane, they were fighting against each other. So, there’s no need to think that something very different is happening here,” he added.Local body polls will not impact functioning of Maharashtra govtPawar also affirmed that the three parties contesting separately—BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena—against each other in the local body polls have agreed that the elections will not impact the functioning of the Maharashtra state government, even after results are declared on January 16.This comes after Chief Minister Fadnavis took a swipe at Ajit Pawar for criticising the BJP during the poll campaign.Speaking during an interaction with actor Girija Oak, Fadnavis said the BJP and the NCP had decided well in advance that they would not contest the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic elections as allies, since both were strong parties in the region.“Ajit dada only speaks, but my work speaks. We had already decided that even if we contest against each other, it would be a friendly contest and that we would refrain from criticising each other or each other’s parties. I have followed that rule till now, but his restraint is somewhat shaken,” Fadnavis said.However, Ajit Pawar will not “speak” after January 15, when votes will be cast, Fadnavis said, exuding confidence in the BJP’s performance.‘I have a secular mindset’Pawar also condemned attempts to give the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections a “communal angle”. Reaffirming that he has “a secular mindset”, he said that in a diverse country like India, everyone is an equal citizen.“I do not like this at all. I have a secular mindset. The ideology of Ambedkar does not teach us this. Our country is so big, and those who live in this country are all Indians. If someone is committing treason against the country, action should be taken against them, and they should be given the death penalty. A new law should be made,” Ajit Pawar told ANI.Pawar’s statement comes a day after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asserted that the new BMC mayor will be “from the Mahayuti, will be a Hindu, and a Marathi.”
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