NCP leader Sharad Pawar made a U-turn, telling media in Satara, Maharashtra, that Ajit Pawar would not be given another chance to "correct his mistake of going against the party's policies" by allying with the BJP. This was in sharp contrast to his remarks in the morning in Baramati, where he had denied any split in the party and had acknowledged that his nephew was a leader of the party.
Ajit took the oath of office as deputy chief minister under the short-lived Devendra Fadnavis administration in November 2019, only to resign a few days later. Sharad Pawar was asked at Satara if he would accept Ajit if he rejoined the parent party.
Elaborating on the early morning swearing-in episode in November 2019, he said when Ajit “accepted his mistake and assured he will not take such a step again”, the party gave him one chance to correct the mistake. “Nobody should ask for multiple chances to correct mistakes and no multiple chances should be given for repetitive mistakes. We have taken a stand that no more chances would be given (to Ajit),” he added.
Earlier, when asked about his daughter Supriya Sule’s remark that there was no split in the party and Ajit was still a leader of NCP, Sharad Pawar said, “It is true. There is no dispute about it.”
The speaker of the legislative assembly, Rahul Narwekar also reaffirmed that there had been no division within the NCP and that the 53 legislators who make up the party constituted one cohesive body.
