Sharad Pawar, the leader of the NCP, reaffirmed that his group will "never" support the BJP. A few minutes after he shared the dais with Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis at the dedication of a statue of late Peasants and Workers Party leader, the late Ganpatrao Deshumkh, Pawar told reporters at Sangola in the Solapur district, "BJP's ideology does not suit us."
“Some of us (Ajit Pawar's NCP group) have taken a different stand. Some of our well-wishers are trying to see if there can be any change in our stand. That is why they are trying to have a cordial discussion with us,” Pawar was quoted by the media as saying without taking names.
When questioned about the confusion that his secret meeting with his nephew Ajit Pawar, who has joined the Shinde-Fadnavis government in Maharashtra, has caused among NCP's grassroots supporters, Pawar emphasised that the meeting with Ajit was not top-secret. “Ajit Pawar is my nephew and in the Pawar family, I am a father figure now. The meeting between me and someone from my family should not be an issue.” He said there wasn’t any confusion at the grassroots level either. “Whenever there arises a situation of voting (on the floor of the state assembly), we (NCP) will take an appropriate decision.”
In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Fadnavis said he was unaware of the “secret” meeting between Pawars. “I don’t have any information. I don’t know if any such meeting took place, or what transpired during the meeting if it did take place. I don’t have a clue about the venue of the meeting or how long it lasted,” he said, brushing aside media queries on the matter.