Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday took full responsibility for the NCP's poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections and said the defeat in Baramati, which was supposed to be a prestige battle, was surprising.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting of his party MLAs, Pawar said all the MLAs are firmly with him and rejected speculations that some MLAs were planning to defect to the Sharad Pawar-led faction. .
He said, "The opposition can say anything. I have always had the support of the people. My MLAs, MLCs have assured me that they will always stand with me.,
Speaking about Baramati, where sitting MP Supriya Sule defeated his wife Sunetra Pawar by a huge margin, the Deputy CM said, "The result is surprising because I have always got the support of the people there."
When asked whether he would once again join hands with NCP founder Sharad Pawar, he said he had accepted responsibility for the election defeat and said, "There is no need to make family matters public."
Saying there would be a detailed introspection of the party's election performance, the NCP president said some of the reasons included Muslims moving away from the ruling alliance, the opposition's allegations of changes in the Constitution that alienated Dalits and backward classes, as well as Maratha movement is also included. Quota movement in Marathwada.
Pawar said he discussed the results with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and said appropriate decisions would be taken to win back people's support.
Pawar said he has spoken to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over his statement about leaving his post after the election defeat.Pawar said, "Fadnavis said that we will talk about this in Delhi tomorrow. I am going to Delhi tomorrow for the NDA meeting."
Asked about party MLC Amol Mitkari's comments on internal sabotage and lack of support from allies for the losses in Baramati and Shirur, Pawar said his colleague had received a "wrong briefing".
“We fell short and I take full responsibility,” he said.
Asked whether the election defeat was a message to the people that they did not accept defection, Pawar said the Shinde-led Shiv Sena had won seven of the 15 seats it had contested.Referring to Sharad Pawar's move, he said, "Defection is not a new thing in Maharashtra. This also happened in 1978, due to which the veteran became the Chief Minister.
In July last year, the NCP broke after Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Shinde government.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting of his party MLAs, Pawar said all the MLAs are firmly with him and rejected speculations that some MLAs were planning to defect to the Sharad Pawar-led faction. .
He said, "The opposition can say anything. I have always had the support of the people. My MLAs, MLCs have assured me that they will always stand with me.,
Speaking about Baramati, where sitting MP Supriya Sule defeated his wife Sunetra Pawar by a huge margin, the Deputy CM said, "The result is surprising because I have always got the support of the people there."
When asked whether he would once again join hands with NCP founder Sharad Pawar, he said he had accepted responsibility for the election defeat and said, "There is no need to make family matters public."
Saying there would be a detailed introspection of the party's election performance, the NCP president said some of the reasons included Muslims moving away from the ruling alliance, the opposition's allegations of changes in the Constitution that alienated Dalits and backward classes, as well as Maratha movement is also included. Quota movement in Marathwada.
Pawar said he discussed the results with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and said appropriate decisions would be taken to win back people's support.
Pawar said he has spoken to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over his statement about leaving his post after the election defeat.Pawar said, "Fadnavis said that we will talk about this in Delhi tomorrow. I am going to Delhi tomorrow for the NDA meeting."
Asked about party MLC Amol Mitkari's comments on internal sabotage and lack of support from allies for the losses in Baramati and Shirur, Pawar said his colleague had received a "wrong briefing".
“We fell short and I take full responsibility,” he said.
Asked whether the election defeat was a message to the people that they did not accept defection, Pawar said the Shinde-led Shiv Sena had won seven of the 15 seats it had contested.Referring to Sharad Pawar's move, he said, "Defection is not a new thing in Maharashtra. This also happened in 1978, due to which the veteran became the Chief Minister.
In July last year, the NCP broke after Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Shinde government.
