Rahul Gandhi meets Sharad Pawar, says Congress firmly behind him

During the meeting, Mr. Gandhi also reiterated that the Congress did not seek to exploit the current crisis

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar at his residence in Delhi on Thursday, reinforcing the firm position of the Congress party amidst the ongoing situation within the NCP after the rebellion of Mr. Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar.

During the meeting, Mr. Gandhi also reiterated that the Congress did not seek to exploit the current crisis and would continue to stand behind the veteran politician.

Furthermore, the Congress top brass instructed its Maharashtra unit not to hastily claim the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) position in the Legislative Assembly and remain patient and allow the crisis in the NCP to settle down. Sources in both factions told The Hindu that 32 out of the NCP’s 53 MLAs were supporting Mr. Ajit Pawar, while 18 supported his uncle. The Congress is the only party in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition which has 45 MLAs. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has 17 MLAs in the House.

“We will decide on the post of the LoP at the right time and don’t want to take any advantage of the ongoing situation. They are our allies and we continue to support Pawar Saheb. We are solidly behind Pawar Saheb,” Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Nana Patole told The Hindu.

Mr. Patole said that they would allow the crisis in the NCP to settle down and gauge the opinion of both Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP before taking any decision. “We are not in a hurry to claim LoP. Moreover, based on the strength, the Speaker of the House decides which party should claim the position,” he said.

Further, he accused the BJP of ‘strangling democracy’ by finishing off Opposition parties through the “fear of government agencies like the ED [Enforcement Directorate] and the CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation]”. “The BJP is indulging in this dirty politics and splitting Opposition parties as it was sensing defeat in the coming elections,” the Congress leader said.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT) said they were waiting for the issue to be resolved and Mr. Thackeray was in contact with Mr. Sharad Pawar.