Sunil Tatkare urges NCP activists to work together for development

Talking about the decision of Ajit Pawar to side with BJP, Tatkare said it was taken to ensure that the development work in the state does not suffer. “It came to our notice that the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre was not very conducive to the state. So we decided to side with the BJP. When the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was formed, we joined hands with Shiv Sena, where we entered into an alliance with a party whom we have been opposing for the past many years. If we could do that, then joining hands with BJP for the betterment of the state should also be possible,” he said.

Tatkare, however, said the party would retain its characteristic as a secular progressive party and walk on the path of Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. “As workers of the party, we have to talk to our voters and convince them of this,” he said. The state president also said that workers should not get into the politics of photographs. “Instead of fretting over who has taken down whose photographs, we should reach out to the voters and convince them of our stand,” he said.

Pune, he said, was yet to see a full-fledged meeting of Ajit Pawar. “Ajit dada is yet to come to Pune on his own. We waited for the dust to settle and soon we will see him on his home turf,” he said. Of the two MLAs that NCP has in Pune, only Sunil Tingre was there while Chetan Tupe was not there. However, a large number of former corporators and mayors were present on the dais.