Ajit Pawar denies he sought CM’s post during meeting with Amit Shah

Pawar also said he was not in favour of friendly fights with partners of the ruling Mahayuti, the BJP and the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

“My view is that there should be no friendly fights in the election ring,” he said. “We are still discussing seat-sharing. After we complete our discussions, we will hold a press conference and announce it. Also, there is no such proposal that the NCP should contest the elections separately. These are only discussions in the media.”

“There should be no friendly fights. When we were in alliance with the Congress, we never had any friendly fights. When we decide to hold friendly fights, questions arise as to where exactly we should hold such fights. Such a decision will have an impact on other seats. Any decision regarding this will be taken during our meetings,” he added.

Pawar said the current focus was on taking the Government’s public welfare schemes to the people. ”All our energies are currently focussed on taking the welfare schemes to the people,” he said.

When asked about his photo being removed from a BJP drive on the Government’s flagship Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, the deputy chief minister said, ”I had myself asked them to remove my photo…”

Meanwhile, NCP state chief Jayant Patil said, “If they are going to hold friendly fights, our party will benefit a lot as already we are witnessing an influx into our party.”