Ajit Pawar likely to return as NCP’s Legislative Party chief: Reports

Mumbai, Nov 27: Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who had sided with the BJP is likely to return as Legislature Party leader today.

After Ajit's rebellion against NCP, supporting the BJP to form government in the state, the NCP removed him as its legislature wing leader and Jayant Patil took over the charges.

Earlier in the day, senior party leader Nawab Malik said Ajit Pawar is back in family and party after NCP chief Sharad Pawar forgave him.

"Sharad Pawar has forgiven Ajit Pawar after he admitted to his mistake and apologised," NCP's Nawab Malik said on Wednesday. Malik added that the role of Ajit Pawar in the government will be decided soon.

In a sign of thawing ties, NCP leader Supriya Sule welcomed her cousin and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to the oath-taking ceremony of new Maharashtra MLAs with a warm hug.

NCP MLA Rohit Pawar said he was sure his uncle Ajit Pawar would return to the party and felt happy after the latter met party chief Sharad Pawar.

"I could not trust how it happened. As a worker, I did not go into the details of it. There was some confusion being a family member, I could not understand what was happening," Rohit Pawar, who is the grandson of Sharad Pawar's elder brother Appasaheb Pawar, told a news channel.

Ajit Pawar shocked his party and family last Saturday when he joined hands with the BJP and became deputy chief minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led government.

However, he resigned as deputy CM citing "personal reason", following which Fadnavis too stepped down as chief minister, leading to collapse of the BJP-led government.