Ajit Pawar’s Sudden Exit From Cabinet Meeting Sparks Speculation; ‘Big Announcement’ Today

Mumbai: Maharashtra politics may witness some major upheavals after Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s sudden exit from a cabinet meeting  without giving any explanations.

Ajit, who holds the finance portfolio, was present for only around 10 minutes and left immediately after tribute was paid to Ratan Tata on Thursday. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader has called a press conference on Friday evening to make some important announcements. 

Coming just ahead of the election for the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly which is slated for next month, Ajit’s move is seen as an indicator of potential shifts in the state’s political landscape. 

After splitting from the Nationalist Congress Party headed by Sharad Pawar, he joined the Mahayuti government as DCM, stating that his decision is guided by the agenda of development.  The Mahayuti government includes Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, and NCP.  

Media reports often claimed that the NCP leaders was not feeling comfortable in the government where several political forces were at play, leading to tensions within the coalition. He was also possibly unhappy with the high number of urgent proposals being brought before the cabinet meeting at the last minute without prior circular, the TOI reported.

Notably, there have been simmering tensions between CM Eknath Shinde and Ajit for a while now and a section of the BJP also wants him out of the Mahayuti alliance, claiming he is not bringing additional votes to the party. There have also been talks that Ajit is planning to contest the Assembly elections independently, without joining hands with the BJP and the Shiv Sena.

NCP state unit chief and MP Sunil Tatkare, however, said there was no question of any friction in Mahayuti.

Sources instead said the press conference could be related to some big political leader joining the party.