The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday claimed that NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar threatened his uncle Sharad Pawar of joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if he did not get an election ticket.
NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) spokesperson Umesh Patil made the accusation after Rohit Pawar recently claimed that the party is set to see a rift as 22 MLAs will join the BJP.
"Rohit Pawar wanted to come to the NCP party and was behind Ajit Dada," Patil alleged. He further claimed, "Rohit Pawar had threatened Sharad Pawar that if he was not given a ticket, he would contest from the BJP."
Patil further questioned Rohit Pawar's recent stance in support of his late uncle.
"CBI investigation is on, the family has faith in it. No one is affected more than the wife and the two sons," Patil said.
"Rohit Pawar wants to use the legacy of (Ajit) Dada to position himself as the next leader of Baramati," he alleged.
Patil's remarks come in response to Rohit Pawar's claim on Wednesday that 22 NCP MLAs were in touch with the BJP and may switch sides soon. On Friday, the Karjat Jamkhed MLA pointed out the absence of senior leaders Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel from the party's newly announced working committee list.
"Talks of both factions coming together had gained momentum while Dada was still alive in the party," he said, speaking to reporters. The NCP-SP MLA noted that both Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare had "worked with Sharad Pawar for many years".
He further claimed that Tatkare had recently met NCP-SP leader Sharad Pawar. "A few days ago, Sunil Tatkare had gone to meet Sharad Pawar. I am also told that Praful Patel was present during the meeting," he said.
The MLA, however, described the interaction as a "non-political meeting".
