Trouble in Mahayuti | NCP threatens to quit as Shinde Sena minister’s remark sparks row

In a fresh trouble for the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has threatened to quit the state cabinet if Shiv Sena (Shinde) leader and Maharashtra Health minister Tanaji Sawant is not sacked by the party.

The NCP’s threat came after Sawant’s controversial remarks that he sits next to his NCP peers at cabinet meetings but feels like vomiting after coming out. Speaking at an event on Thursday, Sawant said he is a hardcore Shiv Sainik and never got along with NCP leaders. “Even if we sit next to each other in the cabinet, I feel like vomiting after coming out,” he said.

“Either he stays or the NCP. If he is not sacked, we should quit the Mahayuti cabinet. I request our national president Ajit Pawar and all our senior leaders to quit the Cabinet,” The Indian Express quoted NCP spokesperson Umesh Patil as saying on Friday. The NCP leader also urged Ajit Pawar not to attend any cabinet meeting until Sawant is sacked.

Won’t accept apology, says NCP

“Even our ministers should boycott Cabinet meetings till Sawant is sacked. We will not accept Sawant’s apology or statement that he was misinterpreted. We want him out immediately,” he added.

Patil minced no words and said the NCP was not desperate for power and refused to work with a minister who makes such a disparaging comment. “He is not a minister who deserves to be in the Mahayuti Cabinet…he should be sacked immediately,” said Patil.

NCP Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Amol Mitkari also flayed Sawant’s remark and asked whether it was the responsibility of only his party to keep the alliance intact.

Sawant has made remarks in the past that have hurt the NCP, he said. “We are quiet only to maintain the coalition dharma,” he said. It is only the chief minister who can “treat” his nausea, the NCP leader added.

Ajit on way out of Mahayuti?

The incident comes amid reports of a rift in the Mahayuti alliance comprising BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, and suggestions that Ajit was being deliberately relegated to the sidelines in order to compel him to quit the alliance.

Ajit has been under mounting pressure ever since his party managed to win only one seat and the Mahayuti didn’t fare well in the Lok Sabha elections. A publication with RSS ties even blamed his NCP faction for the poor show of the ruling alliance in the polls.

Interestingly, the minister’s controversial remarks against the NCP came close on the heels of some surprising moves of Ajit Pawar, which hinted at internal rumblings in the Mahayuti. Ajit tendered an apology to the people of the state for the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue in Sindhudurg. His party also staged a state-wide silent protest demanding action against those responsible for it. Besides, Ajit also paid a visit to the site where the statue collapsed.

Throw his party out: Rival faction

Meanwhile, the NCP (SP) led by Ajit’s uncle Sharad Pawar latched onto Sawant’s remark, saying it’s time for the BJP to throw Ajit's party out of Mahayuti.

It's also the time for Ajit Pawar to “wake up and smell the coffee”, said the rival NCP faction.

NCP (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto said Sawant’s remark shows that Mahayuti does not need the NCP any longer. “The RSS’ mouthpiece had questioned the BJP why they aligned with Ajit Pawar. The BJP cadre is also posing the same question,” he said.

Now, Shinde Sena leaders are saying derogatory things like “feeling nauseating when they sit next to NCP leaders”, Crasto said.

“The time has come when the BJP will, slowly but steadily, throw Ajit Pawar out of Mahayuti. All is not well and cracks are getting bigger by the day. It is time for Ajit Pawar to wake up and smell the coffee,” Crasto said.

Ajit has lost self-respect: Tapase

Mahesh Tapase, another NCP (SP) spokesperson, claimed that Ajit has lost his self-respect and there is growing discontent within the ranks of the Shinde-led Sena over the alliance with NCP.

“I never imagined that Ajit Dada, who once commanded immense respect within the NCP, would compromise his self-respect for power,” Tapase said.

The growing discomfort among Shinde Sena members over Ajit Pawar’s inclusion in the government has now been starkly revealed through Sawant's remarks, Tapase said.

“Minister Tanaji Sawant's statement has effectively erased Ajit Dada's political standing, and yet, his own party members remain silent,” he said.

Given the current state of affairs, the NCP might not even secure 25 seats in the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra, and it is this desperation that has led to such humiliating treatment, Tapase further claimed.

The Sharad Pawar-founded NCP split in July 2023 when Ajit Pawar and MLAs loyal to him broke away to join the Mahayuti. Subsequently, the Ajit Pawar faction got the party name and its clock symbol. Since the split, both factions have been targeting each other.

(With agency inputs)