'I was shocked' when Ajit joined hands with BJP: Sharad Pawar reveals in biography

NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, who announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down as the chief of the party, has opened up on his nephew Ajit Pawar's decision to join hands with the BJP in 2019 even as he was attempting to bring Shiv Sena and Congress in one fold to form Maha Vikas Aghadi.

In his revised biography 'Lok Majhe Sangti', the senior Pawar has confessed that he was "shocked" when he came to know about Ajit reaching the Raj Bhavan to take oath along with Devendra Fadnavis.

Photo Credit: File photo of Sharad Pawar with Ajit Pawar. PTI Photo

"I was shocked when I got a call on November 23, 2019, around 6.30 am that Ajit and a few NCP MLAs were at Raj Bhavan and Ajit was taking oath with Fadnavis," NDTV quoted Pawar as stating in the second part of the memoir.

The NCP supremo remembered calling Uddhav Thackeray to tell him that what Ajit did was "wrong"

"When I made calls to a few MLAs who were at Raj Bhavan, I got to know that only 10 MLAs have reached there and one of them told me that it is happening because I support this. But this was a plan for the central BJP to fail the plan of MVA (Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi). I called Uddhav Thackeray immediately and told him that whatever Ajit has done is wrong and NCP and I don't support that. My name was used to take NCP MLAs to Raj Bhavan. I asked him to join me in the press conference at 11 am," Pawar said.

Ajith, with the support of a couple of MLAs, had took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. However, he returned to party fold, days later as many MLAs did not rally behind him.

Of late, there have been rumours of Ajit joining hands with the BJP. From praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stating he was "ready to become Chief Minister" now, his statements have triggered rumours of him breaking away from the NCP.

Meanwhile, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday announced that he was stepping down as the party chief.

"I am resigning from the post of the national president of NCP," ANI quoted Pawar as stating at an event. However, he is yet to name his successor and will form a committee to pick the next chief.

"I have three years left of Rajya Sabha membership in Parliament, during which I will focus on issues related to Maharashtra and India, with a caveat of not taking any responsibility. After a long period of public life from May 1, 1960, to May 1, 2023, it is necessary to take a step back. Hence, I have decided to step down as President of the Nationalist Congress Party," Hindustan Times quoted him as saying in his address to the party workers.