Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, said on Saturday that whenever Sharad Pawar's party becomes weak, he joins the Congress and later leaves it.
Clarifying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not made an 'offer' to NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, but 'advised' him to join the NDA, the senior BJP leader said, "From 1977 till date, we have seen that whenever Sharad Pawar's party weakens, he merges with the Congress and then exits.
"Sharad Pawar had said that he contested the elections on five different symbols. If we look at his political career, whenever his party became weak, he joined Congress, corrected his position, and then left the party," Mr Fadnavis said.
He said that PM Modi has advised Mr Pawar not to merge with the Congress, which is a sinking ship, but to join the NDA.
"Sharad Pawar has realised that the Ajit Pawar-led NCP nominee will win the Baramati seat. So he made a statement that the regional parties should merge with Congress after June 4. So, he knows the outcome of the elections. Already you are drowning, and now you are going to a sinking ship," Mr Fadnavis said.
On his part, Mr Pawar has ruled out the possibility of joining the BJP-led NDA, saying that there is no question of joining "such people who have no faith in democracy".
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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