NCP Maharashtra state president Jayant Patil claims that the party will be represented by the next chief minister of the state. The claim could create another rift within the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance. According to Jayant Patil, the NCP will be represented as the next chief minister of the state. He said that the NCP is rapidly gaining momentum under the leadership of Sharad Pawar, and it will eventually overtake all other parties to become the dominant force in Maharashtra. The party with the maximum number of seats, which was the Shiv Sena in 2019, had decided the chief minister’s post in the past. The NCP’s claim to the position, however, could create friction between its allies, the Congress and the Shiv Sena, as the Congress had earlier indicated similar intentions. This is because the seat-sharing deal is yet to be finalised.
What did Jayant Patil claim?
Patil, a seven-time MLA from Sangli’s Islampur Assembly constituency, said, “At present, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the NCP are getting overwhelming support from people across the state. The satisfaction is that the next chief minister of Maharashtra will be from the NCP. It has now been accepted by almost everyone. How fast our party is moving forward… I am confident that under the leadership of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, NCP will emerge as the single largest party in the state in future.”
As a noted Pawar supporter, Patil made his remarks at a time when supporters of Ajit Pawar were putting up billboards in several cities declaring Ajit Pawar as the next chief minister. Ajit Pawar had also openly expressed his desire to become CM in an interview recently. Ajit Pawar is considered the second number member of the party after the senior Pawar and has a lot of influence on many MLAs. He recently expressed his displeasure over the Shiv Sena (UBT) portraying its leader Uddhav Thackeray as the leader of the MVA (Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi).
Refinery row: Pawar meets protesters
On the other hand, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar met a group of anti-refinery protesters led by Satyajit Chavan on Sunday. Chavan was detained by the Ratnagiri police on April 23, a day before soil sampling at Barsu village in Maharashtra’s coastal Ratnagiri district, where one of the world’s largest oil refineries is likely to come up.
On Monday late afternoon, Pawar will have another meeting with state Industries Minister Uday Samant. Both Pawar and Samant have met twice since the state government used police force to quell villagers’ protest for the survey last week. Pawar then instructed Samant to avoid the use of force, free those detained during the protest and hold talks with project opponents before proceeding. Police fired tear gas to disperse protesters on Friday as anger ran high. Pawar tweeted that a group led by Satyajit Chavan had gone to meet him at the YB Chavan Center in Mumbai. NCP leader and former state minister Jitendra Awhad also attended the meeting.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Friday that the approval of the local people is necessary before going ahead with the proposed refinery project. Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Saturday said it is important to ensure that development initiatives do not harm the environment. He encouraged the Maharashtra government to hold talks with all interested parties and find out the best course of action. Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut, whose party is supporting the protesters, on Saturday claimed that there was no coordination between Chief Minister Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on the proposed refinery project.