"Can't Say Whether...": Ajit Pawar Days After No-Show At Amit Shah's Visit

Soon after setting off speculation about his alliance with the BJP by skipping Union Home Minister Amit Shah's programs in Mumbai, Nationalist Congress Party leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has now set politics in Maharashtra abuzz by publicly saying he is unsure of how long he would be at the helm of the state finance department.

At a program in Pune's Baramati, Mr Pawar said, "Today, I have the responsibility of the Finance Department, but I can't say whether it will be there tomorrow or not."

Ajit Pawar was speaking at a program related to the cooperative sector, where he also said that the sector's institutions, and sugar mills, must become financially capable.

He had earlier rejected speculation regarding his absence at Amit Shah's programs in Mumbai a day before, saying he had informed Mr Shah's office about his prior engagements in advance.

Amit Shah had visited the residences of Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde, and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to take darshan of Lord Ganesh.

Mr Pawar's recent statement that he will hold discussions on five per cent reservation for Muslims in educational institutes with Mr Shinde and Mr Fadnavis is also likely to cause discomfort as two of the three parties in the alliance government -- Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and BJP -- are averse to the idea.

Ajit Pawar earlier this year spearheaded a mutiny against his uncle and party chief Sharad Pawar, joining the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra as Deputy Chief Minister, and was rewarded with the keys to the state's treasury. He engineered a vertical split in the NCP to become deputy chief minister in the one-year-old Shiv Sena-BJP government.