Ajit Pawar says NCP leaders who joined BJP will return; BJP hits back
Dec 26, 2020
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], December 26 : Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said that the Nationalist Congress Party leaders who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the assembly elections in the state were "disgruntled" and have expressed wished to return to NCP.
"The leaders who joined BJP thought that they would be heard when BJP would come to power. Now they want to leave BJP because their works were not done. Some leaders from Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad have wished to return. They will soon be welcomed," Pawar told reporters here.
State BJP chief Chandrakant Patil took a jibe at Ajit Pawar over his remarks, saying if NCP leader has such clout then why he was not able to retain the MLAs who were with him when he had briefly joined hands with BJP to form government in the state after the assembly polls.
"If Ajit sir has such clout why couldn't he retain the 28 MLAs who had joined his fold? If he couldn't keep them, from where will he get the rest of the MLAs," Patil told ANI.
"If someone has promised Ajit Pawar to join NCP, let him welcome them. Some people have also promised us but we do not talk about it, we do it. Last week, we welcomed a leader who contested polls on NCP symbol and later switched to Shiv Sena," he added.
