Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut today claimed that Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar will not join hands with the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in his lifetime.
Talking to reporters, Mr Raut further claimed a prime minister of the opposition INDIA alliance will hoist the national flag at the Red Fort in Delhi next year 2024 and the country is waiting for that "auspicious" moment.
"I don't think Sharad Pawar will join hands with the BJP till the time he lives. He is rebuilding his party," the Rajya Sabha member said.
Sharad Pawar's party is an ally of the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress in Maharashtra.
A meeting between Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is his nephew, at the residence of a businessman in Pune on Saturday has created a buzz in political circles.
Asked whether Ajit Pawar gave any offer to Sharad Pawar during the meeting, Mr Raut said, "When did Ajit Pawar become so big to give an offer to Sharad Pawar."
"It is Sharad Pawar who made Ajit Pawar. Sharad Pawar has been the chief minister of the state for four terms and served as the Union minister multiple times," Mr Raut added.
His remarks came days after an editorial in the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana' said the frequent meetings between Sharad Pawar and his nephew were tarnishing the image of the NCP founder.
The Marathi daily also said it is amusing that Ajit Pawar is frequently meeting his uncle and the latter is also not avoiding it.
After the meeting in Pune last month, Sharad Pawar and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar brushed it off saying it was not a secret meeting, amid overtures from the rebel NCP camp led by Ajit Pawar to senior Pawar to give them his blessings.
Speaking in his hometown Baramati on Tuesday, Sharad Pawar said some people in the party have taken a different path, but "once they realize the situation, their stand may change." "Whether they change their stand or not, we will not deviate from the path we have chosen," he told a gathering.
"I have told Maharashtra (voters) to vote for someone. And now, I can not tell them to vote for someone whom we have opposed all along," Sharad Pawar added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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