Eknath Shinde's leader is continuously criticising Ajit Pawar, NCP claimed (Representational)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde lacks control over his party leaders, the NCP claimed and demanded that coalition dharma be followed. This came after Shiv Sena leader Vijay Shivtare launched a diatribe against Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
The Nationalist Congress Party is livid as Mr Shivtare continues to criticise Ajit Pawar even after meeting Mr Shinde in Mumbai recently.
Notably, the NCP has gone public against the Shiv Sena led by Mr Shinde twice in the last ten days.
On March 12, NCP spokesperson and former MP Anand Paranjape asked Shiv Sena to restrain their leaders from making provocative statements or else face the consequences in the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency, currently represented by Mr Shinde's son Shrikant Shinde.
"The NCP is abiding by the Mahayuti dharma but the Chief Minister should control his leaders. Enough is enough. Vijay Shivtare is spoiling the atmosphere for Mahayuti in Baramati. He is also trying to disturb the atmosphere of the Mahatuti alliance," Mr Paranjape said in a statement.
If Mr Shivtare continues to target Ajit Pawar and breaks the coalition dharma in Baramati, NCP workers will respond in a similar manner in constituencies to be contested by the Shiv Sena.
"Current developments project a picture of Eknath Shinde lacking control over leaders of Shiv Sena or they don't listen to him. We are striving to maintain unity but restraining party (Sena) leaders seemingly poses a significant challenge for the chief minister," Mr Paranjape added.
He also referred to the issue of the candidate selection for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
Notably, the BJP has so far declared 20 candidates but the seat-sharing formula with the two other allies is not yet finalised, apparently due to a lack of consensus among the allies over certain constituencies. Paranjape said workers of every political party want to contest a certain seat which is natural.
"BJP workers want to contest Kalyan Lok Sabha seat and have written a letter to their state president. But everybody should be mindful that decisions regarding candidates would be taken collectively by senior leaders of the coalition," he stated.
The NCP leader further claimed that the party is unaware of what transpired at the meeting between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and MNS chief Raj Thackeray.
"We all activists of Mahayuti will obey the decision of the leadership," he said even as he called for unity among Mahayuti workers, urging them to ensure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins a third term.
"We are hopeful that discussions among alliance leaders would lead to a successful seat-sharing formula and victory for more than 45 MPs from Maharashtra," he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)