NCP was Ajit Pawar’s to keep but he chose to disrupt our lives: Supriya Sule

The Nationalist Congress Party was Ajit Pawar’s to keep but he chose to “disrupt all our lives and go away”, his cousin and Baramati MP Supriya Sule said at India Today Mumbai Conclave 2024.
Speaking about Ajit Pawar, whose rebellion led to the division of the party led by veteran leader Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule said she was happy to give the mantle of the party to him.
“I never asked for it (NCP leadership). He was going to get it. Arey maang leta na sab de deti. Party lene ki jarurat nahi thi (I would have given the leadership to him had he asked. There was no need to snatch the party),” said Sule, who is the working president of the NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar.
Ajit Pawar, the nephew of Sharad Pawar, walked away with a majority of NCP MLAs in July last year and supported the BJP-Shiv Sena government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra. He now serves as one of the Deputy Chief Ministers in the state government.
The split in party also resulted in a bitter battle over the party’s name and symbol, with the Election Commission eventually declaring the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the ‘real NCP’ based on the legislators’ support.
Supriya Sule, who is the working president of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), rejected allegations that Sharad Pawar was biased towards his daughter.
“I am ready for an open debate with Ajit Pawar or anyone from his camp on this,” Sule said.
Sule said there was no tussle about the party succession but the way Ajit Pawar went was wrong.
“He chose to disrupt all our lives and go away. He had the option; it was all for him to keep,” she said.
“It was not about succession. This is about an alliance (Ajit Pawar joining the BJP-Shiv Sena camp),” she added.