‘Why are you with BJP after corruption charges?’: Sanjay Raut urges Ajit Pawar to return to Sharad Pawar-led NCP

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said the Ajit Pawar-led NCP should merge with the NCP (SP) headed by his uncle Sharad Pawar, pointing out that both factions have come together for the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad civic body elections. Raut also questioned Ajit Pawar’s presence in the Mahayuti government, a day after the NCP chief alleged large-scale corruption in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), which was earlier ruled by the BJP. The Mahayuti alliance comprises the BJP, the Shiv Sena led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Noting that both the BJP and Ajit Pawar have accused each other of corruption, Raut asked why the alliance continued. "Then why are you in the government? He (Ajit Pawar) should come back to Sharad Pawar. Now that you have forged an alliance in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, Ajit Pawar should leave the BJP-led government, and merge (the NCP) with the original NCP (SP)," Raut told reporters. The NCP split in 2023 when Ajit Pawar joined the BJP-led Mahayuti government along with several MLAs. The Election Commission later recognised his faction as the real NCP and allotted it the original clock symbol.

Raut said Ajit Pawar’s recent remarks suggested a shift in his political stance, especially on alleged corruption involving the BJP. He pointed out that both Pawar factions are contesting the civic polls together. "It seems Ajit Pawar's direction has changed. If this is the case, then he should abandon the BJP," the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said. The NCP and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) are contesting the January 15 elections to the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad civic bodies in alliance. Ajit Pawar on Friday alleged that the PCMC had been plagued by corruption for the last nine years and pushed into debt. He made the allegations a day after Union minister and BJP leader Murlidhar Mohol criticised the NCP for giving tickets to candidates with criminal backgrounds. The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation was governed by the BJP from 2017 to 2022 and has since been run by a state-appointed administrator.

The civic body will go to the polls on January 15 along with 28 other municipal corporations. Ajit Pawar also defended the decision to field candidates facing criminal cases, saying he himself had faced allegations of orchestrating a ₹70,000 crore irrigation scam, and that no one should be considered guilty until proven. "Everybody knows that allegations of a Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam were levelled against me. Today, I am in power alongside those who made those allegations. Can a person be labelled guilty even before it is proved?" Referring to the PCMC’s past record, Ajit Pawar said, "This municipal corporation was once known as the richest in Asia. It even received awards as the best city of India when NCP was in power and achieved many such milestones, Yet, despite being so wealthy, it was never pushed into debt." He also appeared to take a veiled swipe at Union minister Murlidhar Mohol, alluding to absconding Pune gangster Nilesh Ghaywal. "Who helped a person from Pune escape?" the deputy chief minister asked. (With agency inputs)