Mumbai: Sharad Pawar, ridiculed for being in the driving seat at the age of 83 by his nephew Ajit Pawar, on Wednesday gave a point-by-point rebuttal to the rebels, fielding subjects ranging Nagaland and his past decisions.
For the rebels, there was a warning too. Suggesting that the group would have done better to consult him before going ahead with their plans, Mr Pawar said, "People who went with the BJP -- look at their history. Akali Dal formed government in Punjab. They are not in government now".
"Similar things have happened in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh. Nitish Kumar had to take a decision in Bihar... The BJP destroys parties that form government with them," Mr Pawar added.
Responding to Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel's argument that if the NCP could ally with Shiv Sena, why not the BJP, Mr Pawar said there is a difference between the two.
"Yes, Shiv Sena also follows Hindutva. They take everyone together, that's their Hindutva. BJPs Hindutva is about dividing people, poisonous, Manuwadi and dangerous... People who divide on the basis of religion and caste, they can't be the ones who love the country. That's why we can't go with someone who believes in this," Sharad Pawar said.
He also clarified the issue of NCP support to BJP in Nagaland – another big argument of the rebels – pointing to the big picture.
"In Nagaland, our seven MLAs are with the BJP. Nagaland is the bordering state with another country. In states which share the border with China and Pakistan - we have to think a lot. The other country could take some benefit, that's why we gave support from outside. Here they formed the government and gave this example, I cannot agree with this example," said Mr Pawar.
The Sena veteran only managed to gather 17 MLAs under his banner on Wednesday, despite a whip and an appeal about "an 83-year-old fighting alone". The Ajit Pawar camp, who had urged the leaders to be "practical", paraded 29 MLAs -- well short of two-thirds and "practically the whole party" he claimed was supporting him.
Sharad Pawar, however, claimed he would prefer to disregard numbers, or even names and poll symbols.
"Today's discussion is who has how many MLAs are with us. I don't pay attention to this. In the past I had 68 MLAs, when I went out for some time, 62 left us, I had just six... In the election, out of 62, only four could come back. We won with new faces," he said.
"If someone says that they will take our symbol -- let me tell you that the symbol of the party will be with us, it won't go anywhere. If the ideology of the party is with the workers, we don't have to worry... I have contested on a number of symbols," he added.
There was even a dig at the BJP on the subject of governance.
"Inflation is a big issue, women's security is a big issue. In the last six months, data says 4,000 women of Maharashtra have been missing. If the women and girls in the state aren't safe, how can they govern the state? We can't go with them. We need to throw them out of power and we will strengthen the NCP," Sharad Pawar said.