MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Friday said that “despite being with” NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar all these years, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar never indulged in politics of castes, according to the news agency PTI.
Although Thackeray and his party are not contesting the Lok Sabha elections, they do support the ruling coalition of the BJP, Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena.
While speaking at a campaign rally in Pune, the MNS chief said, “I may have had many differences with Ajit Pawar, but I can say one thing: he never indulged in caste politics.” At the same time, mocking Pawar senior, he said, “Despite being with Sharad Pawar, I have never seen him indulging in caste politics.”
The “poison” of caste politics started spreading in Maharashtra since 1999, the MNS chief further added, in an apparent reference to Sharad Pawar forming the Nationalist Congress Party that year after leaving the Congress.
Raj had accused Father Pawar of playing the caste card and dividing the society in the past too. The MNS chief highlighted the problems faced by cities in terms of basic services and said that if there is no proper management, they will collapse, ANI reported.
“To divert attention from these issues, some leaders are involving you in (caste politics). On numerous occasions I have urged you to free yourself from caste politics. Think about yourselves and your life,” he said while addressing to the meeting. .
He also stated that “fatwas” were issued from mosques to vote in Congress. “Today I issue a ‘fatwa’ to vote for the candidates of the BJP, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and the Shiv Sena,” he said.
The BJP has fielded Murlidhar Kisan Mohol as its candidate, who will represent the BJP’s alliance with Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Meanwhile, Ravindra Dhangekar received a Congress ticket. The Congress has signed a seat-sharing deal with Uddhav Thackrey’s Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar-led NCP.
Pune is scheduled to go to polls in the fifth and next phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on May 13.