Ajit Pawar, other Maharashtra NCP ministers meet Sharad Pawar in Mumbai

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar along with some other Ministers from his Nationalist Congress Party camp met NCP president Sharad Pawar, in first such meeting since Ajit rebelled against his uncle and joined the Eknath Shinde government

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar along with some other Ministers from his Nationalist Congress Party camp met NCP president Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on July 16.

This was the first meeting between Sharad Pawar and the group-led by Ajit Pawar after he rebelled against his uncle and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2.

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Praful Patel, described the meeting, saying: “We came to meet Sharad Pawar on knowing he was here at the Y.B. Chavan Center. We sought his blessings and expressed our wish that the NCP remains as one party. We had gone there to seek his guidance. However, Mr. Pawar did not gave any reaction. He merely heard us out.”

Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel were joined by other NCP Ministers including Hasan Mushrif, Chhagan Bhujbal, Aditi Tatkare and Dilip Walse Patil.

On Friday, Ajit Pawar visited Silver Oak, the official residence of the NCP supremo, to meet the latter’s wife Pratibha Pawar after she underwent a surgery at a hospital here.

Ajit Pawar is known to be close to his aunt Pratibha. In 2019, she reportedly played a crucial role in bringing him back to the NCP fold after he and Devendra Fadnavis formed a short-lived government after the Assembly polls.