Will Ajit Pawar become a member of the BJP? Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar's nephew, is a former Maharashtra deputy chief minister. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) strongman Sanjay Raut on Wednesday played down speculation Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar might join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, declaring the ex-Maharashtra deputy chief minister would 'not become a slave of the BJP'. "I don't think he will do such things and go with them..." Raut told reporters. "... Ajit Pawar is a senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party. (His) political future is bright… there is nothing to worry about," Raut said. "NCP supremo Sharad Pawar is a guardian and we are with them. Yesterday Uddhav Thackeray and I had discussions with Pawar. Our connection is like Fevicol... no one can separate it," the Rajya Sabha MP insisted. Pawar is the nephew of NCP boss Sharad Pawar and one of the highest-profile members of the Maha Vikas Aghadi - the Sena-NCP-Congress alliance that was in power before Eknath Shinde split Thackeray's party (with help from the BJP) and brought down the government. Talk of him making a switch to the BJP gathered pace after criticism of Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole. "Many-a-time Nana Patole says things that lead to differences in the Maha Vikas Aghadi. If he has any objection then, instead of going to the media, he should raise it with (NCP leader) Jayant Patil or Uddhav Thackeray," Pawar said. What did the Congress say? The Congress leader hit back swiftly, denying the claim and stating he had, in fact, conveyed his views to Patil, who is the state head of the NCP. "Ajit Pawar seemingly not aware of facts. We briefed their state president Jayant Patil. If he did not tell... it is his fault," he said. On speculation Pawar could join the BJP, Patole warned the NCP it would weaken their combined challenge to the BJP ahead of the 2024 general election. The Ajit Pawar-to-BJP talk also gained momentum after his comment about the trustworthiness of Electronic Voting Machines, problems with which are flagged by the opposition after tightly-fought election results swing the BJP's way. What does the BJP say? Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the BJP's Maharashtra chief, has said he is unaware of Pawar joining his party and that he had not spoken to him on the subject. "I don't have any information about him joining the BJP or having any talks with anyone in the party. He has not held any discussions with me," he said. The Ajit Pawar saga In 2019, as the uncle worked offstage to stitch together an alliance with the (then unified) Shiv Sena and the Congress to keep the saffron party out of power, the nephew joined hands with them and was sworn in as deputy to Devendra Fadnavis in a highly controversial and secretive ceremony. Pawar (and the lawmakers whose support he claimed) returned to the NCP fold but, since then, senior leaders like Supriya Sule and Jayant Patil have been given increased responsibilities. Nevertheless, many of Pawar's aides believe he will remain in the NCP rather than take on a diminished role in the BJP. Will he stay or will he go? Either way, the speculation is unlikely to die down soon and certainly not without an emphatic declaration from the NCP leader.
