Sharad Pawar and Amit Shah made big plans after meeting Gautam Adani, Ajit Pawar’s blast in the middle of elections

Mumbai. Industrialist Gautam Adani was part of the political conversation between BJP and Undivided NCP five years ago. This claim has been made by Ajit Pawar. He was referring to the discussions that took place just before joining hands with the BJP and forming a short-term government in 2019 by making Devendra Fadnavis the CM and himself the Deputy CM.

In an interview, Ajit Pawar said, ‘Amit Shah, Gautam Adani, Praful Patel, Fadnavis and Pawar sahab… all were there…’ Ajit Pawar was asked whether he went with the NCP and BJP despite the ideological incompatibility between them? To this, Ajit said that in 2014 also the NCP had supported the Maharashtra government from outside.

What happened in the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections?
Ajit Pawar said, ‘When the results of the 2014 assembly elections came, NCP spokesperson Praful Patel announced that we would support the BJP from outside.’ We do what our seniors tell us to do. After the 2014 assembly elections, NCP spokesperson Praful Patel had announced to support the BJP from outside, Ajit Pawar said, adding that the NCP later said that the support was not permanent but only to form the government, resulting in the BJP and Shiv Sena coming together again.

Meeting was held at Adani’s house in Delhi
Ajit Pawar referred to the ‘meeting’ with Fadnavis before the swearing-in early in the morning. He said, ‘It has been five years, everyone knows where the meeting took place, it was held at a businessman’s house in Delhi, everyone knows. Yes, there were five meetings… Amit Shah was there, Gautam Adani was there, Praful Patel was there, Devendra Fadnavis was there, Pawar sahab was there… everyone was there… everything was decided.’ He further said, ‘The blame has fallen on me, and I have accepted it. I accepted the blame and made others safe.’

‘No one in the world can read Sharad Pawar’s mind’
When asked why Sharad Pawar later showed hesitation and did not go with the BJP, Ajit said that he did not know the reason. He said, ‘Pawar sahab is a leader whose mind no one in the world can read. Not even our aunty (Sharad Pawar’s wife Pratibha) or our Supriya (Sule).’

Said big thing on NCP split
Sharad Pawar has consistently denied any involvement in the power-sharing talks with the BJP in 2019. BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis had last year alleged that Pawar had held several meetings with the BJP between 2017 and 2019. When asked about a split in the NCP, Ajit said there was no question of a split and “whoever has the majority controls the party.”

‘Ideology sidelined in Maharashtra’
Can the Pawar family come together again? On this, Ajit said, ‘I have not thought about it yet. Right now my focus is on the elections and the Mahayuti winning 175 seats.’ On the matter of ideology, Ajit asked how Shiv Sena formed an alliance with Congress and NCP for 2.5 years during the MVA rule. ‘When we were asked to work with them, we did.’ He then said, ‘Don’t ask about ideology. Maharashtra’s politics has changed. Everyone wants power and has put ideology aside. They want to form and run the government.’

Ajit Pawar denied that the corruption allegations leveled against him have anything to do with going with the BJP. He said, ‘The allegations were leveled in 2009 and I went with the BJP in 2023.’ He further said that he was acquitted in the cases as there was no evidence against him. He said, ‘If I was guilty, action would have been taken against me.’

Big change happened in 2023
Ajit went back to Sharad Pawar after taking oath in 2019 as he could get the support of only a few NCP MLAs while most of the party MLAs were with Pawar Senior. Later in 2023, when he joined the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government, he took most of the party MLAs with him.

Proof that Maharashtra government is Adani government: Opposition
Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) officials reacted sharply to Ajit Pawar’s revelations about industrialist Gautam Adani being part of the BJP-NCP talks in 2019. The opposition said it is proof that the Maharashtra government is an ‘Adani government’. Gautam Adani was not available for comment.

Varsha Gaikwad got angry, raised questions
Mumbai Congress President and MP Varsha Gaikwad said, ‘What right did Gautam Adani have, why was he sitting in meetings regarding government formation? I repeat again, the MVA government was destabilized only for Adani, so that he can get Dharavi and any other project he wants. That’s why we say, it is not the Maharashtra government, but the Adani government. Now the truth is out in front of everyone.’

Priyanka Chaturvedi attacked
UBT Shiv Sena spokesperson and MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said in a post, ‘According to Ajit Pawar ji, this meeting took place in 2019, when Devendra Fadnavis became the Chief Minister for the shortest time in a function early in the morning… Adani government for a reason. According to an interview given to a digital platform by a senior minister, Gautam Adani attended meetings to decide how to bring the BJP to power in the state by trying to fix unlikely alliances, it raises some serious questions. Is he the authorised negotiator of the BJP, has he been given the responsibility of finalising alliances, why is a businessman working so zealously and closely to bring the BJP to power in Maharashtra at any cost?..Speak up Dharavi.’