Ajit Pawar walks off stage during party meet; not the first time NCP leader is sulking

NCP leader Ajit Pawar refuted rumours of him being angry with the party. However, history suggests that the state’s former deputy chief minister got annoyed with his party several times.

Former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar on Monday tried to lay to rest rumours about his anger with his party members. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader clarified in a press conference that there was no reason for him to be unhappy.

The rumours of a rift in the NCP gained ground after Ajit Pawar suddenly left the stage where NCP state president Jayant Patil was delivering his speech. However, Pawar returned on stage when NCP chief Sharad Pawar started his speech.

“It was a national conference. The party’s state president Jayant Patil spoke on the state unit’s behalf. I had only gone to the washroom and it was speculated as if I was unhappy by a section of the media,” said Ajit Pawar in a press conference.

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However, there have been several instances in the past when Ajit Pawar got miffed at his party. When Ajit Pawar entered politics, Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya was unwilling to join politics. It was then that Ajit was seen as Pawar’s apparent heir.

In 2004, when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by Dr Manmohan Singh came to power at the Centre, Pawar was made the Union Agriculture Minister.

Later, things in the party started taking a different shape when Pawar shifted his base to Delhi. Political circles started buzzing when Pawar decided to launch Supriya into active politics.