Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar criticized the Maharashtra government’s recent advertisement, which featured Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. In a statement made on Tuesday, he expressed his surprise at the advertisement’s content, which left out Shiv Sena’s stalwarts like Balasaheb Thackeray and Anand Dighe.
The government’s full-page advertisements appeared in several newspapers across the state with the tagline Modi for India, Shinde for Maharashtra. However, the advertisement’s exclusion of images of Balasaheb Thackeray, who founded Shiv Sena, perplexed the leader, who called out the current government’s claims of being Thackeray’s soldiers.
Ajit Pawar has previously served as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and played a significant role in the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election campaign.
The political jibe comes amidst the ongoing feud between Shiv Sena, a former ally of the BJP in Maharashtra, and its current ruling partner, the NCP-led alliance. Pawar’s criticism of the advertisement not only targeted the BJP but also aimed at his current ally, Shiv Sena.
The contentious and swift falling out of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra, which resulted in the formation of the current state government, has highlighted tensions between the two parties. The NCP’s participation in the governance of Maharashtra adds another layer to this political feud.
While the advertisement may have intended to showcase the alliance’s strengths, it appears to have bred further animosity between the two factions. The current government’s actions have raised several questions and sparked speculation about underlying political motives, with both Shiv Sena and NCP leaders engaging in verbal sparring matches. Analysts predict that this could potentially damage the already fragile relationship between the two parties even further.
