Want to become Chief Minister, but get stuck as deputy, says Ajit Pawar

NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Wednesday made no bones about the fact that he aspired to become the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, but could not move beyond the Deputy Chief Minister’s post. Pawar, who orchestrated a split within the NCP last year and joined the Mahayuti government, has served as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state for a record five times.
Speaking at India Today’s Mumbai Conclave, Ajit Pawar, fondly called ‘Ajit Dada’ among his supporters, said, “I want to become the Chief Minister, but I am not being able to move forward. I am not getting the chance,” Pawar said.
The Deputy Chief Minister said the NCP had a chance to occupy the Chief Minister’s post after the 2004 Maharashtra elections, but the party leadership gave up its claim to the Congress. “The NCP got a chance in 2004, but the party leadership squandered it,” he said.
In the 2004 Assembly polls, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP emerged as the single largest party with 71 seats, while its ally Congress stood second with 69 seats. Congress’s Vilasrao Deshmukh went on to become the Chief Minister.
Stressing that he would contest the Maharashtra polls as part of the Mahayuti alliance, Ajit Pawar said the seat-sharing formula would be based on the seats won by each party in the 2019 polls.
“The BJP will contest the seats it won in 2019. It holds the same for the NCP and the Shiv Sena. Thus, the seat-sharing formula is clear on 200 seats. The remaining 88 seats will be divided among the allies,” Pawar said.
The undivided NCP had contested the 2019 Assembly election in alliance with the Congress. The BJP was in alliance with the undivided Shiv Sena. The BJP bagged 105 of the 164 seats it contested while the Shiv Sena won 56 of the 126 seats. The undivided NCP emerged as the third-largest party with 54 seats, while the Congress won 44.
When asked about an RSS journal blaming the NCP and its links to corruption for the coalition’s debacle in the Lok Sabha polls, Ajit Pawar said none of the graft allegations against him were proven in court.
“After the Lok Sabha polls, I spoke with PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Devendra Fadnavis. Apart from them, I am not bothered about what anyone says. I will stay with the Mahayuti alliance and work towards winning the Assembly polls,” he said.
Ajit Pawar’s faction of the NCP won just one of the four seats it contested as the Mahayuti alliance failed to put up an impressive performance.