Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar stated on Monday that he is unfazed by criticism from others, focusing only on the opinions of key leaders within the ruling Mahayuti alliance. Pawar's comments followed an incident the previous day where a group of BJP workers, led by the party's Junnar chief Asha Buchake, waved black flags at his convoy.
“I don’t have anything to do with what other people say. I pay attention to the key people, CM Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena and Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP,” Pawar told reporters during his Jan Sanman Yatra in Mumbai.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Ajit Pawar, has called on Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, to clarify whether he endorses the actions of his BJP workers. This demand came after BJP's Junnar chief, Asha Buchake, accused the NCP of attempting to promote its candidate for the Junnar seat in the upcoming assembly elections.
Buchake justified the protest against Ajit Pawar, stating, "They are trying to strangle us. Therefore, we have adopted an aggressive stand." The incident occurred after a protest where BJP workers raised slogans against Pawar. Buchake further mentioned that an official meeting on tourism development in Junnar was held on Sunday, but BJP representatives were not invited.
“If we are part of Mahayuti, then why were pictures of CM Shinde and deputy CM Fadnavis not put up in the meeting hall,” she added. Asked if he will get a ‘rakhi’ tied on his wrist from estranged cousin Supriya Sule on Raksha Bandhan, Ajit Pawar said, “I will do it if she is in Mumbai today”.