Soon after taking oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister on Sunday, Ajit Pawar said the NCP had decided to join the BJP-Shiv Sena government to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts in taking the country “forward on the path of development”. He also dismissed the attempt by Opposition parties to put up a united front against the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, saying “there are many contradictions within them”. The NCP was among 15 parties that attended the Patna meeting last month. “These meetings give no output. They (opposition parties) are confined within state-level problems while the country needs strong leadership. Hence, we decided to join the government, " he added. Pawar said if the NCP could join hands with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena to form the (former, MVA) government, “what was wrong in joining hands with the BJP”. “We have done it in Nagaland as well,” he said. Flanked by NCP's national working president Praful Patel and newly sworn-in minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Ajit Pawar said he and his party colleagues had joined the government “as NCP”. He said more of his party colleagues will be inducted in the Cabinet in future. “We decided to prioritise development. PM Narendra Modi has been strongly working for the country for the last nine years and he is taking the country forward on the path of development. We believed that we should also support that effort,” he said. Bhujbal said: “(Sharad) Pawar Saheb himself recently told us that PM Modi is going to come back to power in 2024. If that is the case, then we should go along with them with a positive mindset and work towards resolving issues of the people by taking help from the government and helping them in return. Fighting on the streets is not going to solve problems… our endeavour is to be inside the government and address the issues of people," he said. Ajit Pawar said the move to join the government was discussed “for many days” and was supported by “majority of MLAs”. “We all worked under the guidance of (party chief) Sharad Pawar ji. We will now promote young blood. I don't care about criticism. I will work towards the welfare of people of Maharashtra. And we took the decision… Majority of MLAs support it,” he said.
