MUMBAI: Cracks in the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra have surfaced with BJP leaders saying that the tie-up with deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP has harmed the saffron party in the state.
“The alliance with Ajit Pawar’s NCP is beyond my comprehension as it has damaged the BJP in a big way in Maharashtra,” Latur district BJP president Dilip Deshmukh said on Saturday. “BJP’s alliance with NCP does not look like natural. We feel that chief minister Ekanth Shinde-led Shiv Sena is our real brother while NCP is like a stepbrother,” he said.
Taking the same stand, Maharashtra BJP spokesperson Ganesh Hake said, “The alliance with Ajit-led NCP is a very unfortunate decision. Good people are in bad company, so naturally there will be side effects.” The statements came after RSS leaders earlier said the alliance with Ajit-led NCP lowered the “brand value” of the BJP and impacted its performance in the Lok Sabha polls. Mahara assembly polls are due by the year-end. Reacting to the statements, Ajit said, “NCP has cemented its alliance with BJP after talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah, therefore it will not be right to comment on state BJP leaders’ statements.”
Shinde-led Shiv Sena leaders have also questioned the alliance with Ajit’s NCP. “We do sit together in the cabinet meeting but when I come out, I feel like omitting. The alliance with NCP is not natural and digestive. Therefore, this vomiting-like feeling comes,” Sena minister Tanaji Sawant earlier said. Speaking with his party workers, Ajit Pawar said they should not be worried about the alliance with BJP.
“NCP has 54 MLAs and some Congress and Peasants and Workers Party MLAs are likely to join the NCP. Our strength will increase. We should focus on our areas and win,” he said.