Maharashtra: Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said that he was not interested in holding the position of Leader of Opposition in the state and asked the party to assign him any other party post. Ajit Pawar made this statement at the 24th Foundation Day of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which was attended by party patriarch Sharad Pawar.
He appealed to the party leadership to relieve him of the responsibility as Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly and assign him any role in the party organisation.
"I am told that I don't act tough as the leader of the opposition," Ajit Pawar said.
"I was never interested to work as Leader of Opposition but accepted the role on demand of the party MLAs," he said. Pawar also said it is up to NCP leadership to decide on his demand.
Assign me any other post, says Ajit Pawar
"Assign me any post in the party organisation, and I will do complete justice to whatever responsibility I am entrusted with," he added.
Pawar took charge as the Leader of the Opposition last July after the MVA government, in which he was deputy chief minister, collapsed due to a rebellion in Shiv Sena.
Notably, NCP chief Sharad Pawar recently entrusted the responsibility of Maharashtra to his daughter and MP Supriya Sule by appointing her as a working president. Praful Patel is another working president for other states.
Ajit Pawar said Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), led by Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), headed by Prakash Ambedkar, cannot be ignored.
Ajit Pawar also stressed the need to strengthen the NCP organisation in Mumbai and Vidarbha. He said crores are spent on Yoga Day events.
In a veiled jibe at senior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal said, "Had there been able leadership in 2014, the Congress-NCP would have still been in power. They came from Delhi to sink the (UPA) government of that time".
Sharad Pawar bigger leader than Mamata, Kejriwal; why couldn't we form govt on our own, asks Ajit Pawar
Further speaking at the event, Ajit Pawar said, "the work that Mamta, Kejriwal, Jaganmohan, Chandrababu, YSR could do then why should we lag behind when our party has strong leaders like Sharad Pawar. Why couldn't we bring power on our own?"
"If (West Bengal chief minister) Mamata Banerjee, (Delhi CM) Arvind Kejriwal, (AP CM) Jagan Mohan Reddy, N Chandrababu Naidu (of TDP), K Chandrasekhar Rao and Nitish Kumar can win their respective states on their own... Sharad Pawar is a bigger leader than all of them. Why cannot NCP work towards this goal (to win Maharashtra on its strength)," he asked.
ALSO READ | ‘Unprecedented violence in Manipur has left deep wound on nation's conscience’: Sonia Gandhi
ALSO READ | Setback for Nitish ahead of key Oppn meet as Jitan Ram Manjhi meets Amit Shah in Delhi, may join BJP-led NDA
