Will MVA fight 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections together? Here’s what Sharad Pawar said

Maharashtra politics is again on the boil as rifts between NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar appear to have reignited. On 24 April, Sharad Pawar said that NCP is a part of Maha Vikas Aghadi, and there is a willingness to work together. His statements came after he was asked whether MVA parties will fight the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections together.

Hinting at the rift in party, he added that “desire alone is not always enough.”

While speaking to news agency ANI, Sharad Pawar said, “Today, we are a part of Maha Vikas Aghadi, and there is a willingness to work together. But desire alone is not always enough. The allotment of seats, whether there are any problems or not- all this has not been discussed yet. So how can I tell you about this?”

After his statement, Uddhav Thackeray faction leader & MP Sanjay Raut added that “Maha Vikas Aghadi will remain. Its prominent leaders are Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar. In 2024, MVA parties will fight (Maharashtra Assembly) election together.”

Earlier yesterday, following the buzz of NCP Ajit Pawar joining the ruling BJP coalition in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar said that there was no discussion about the matter in the party. He added that the party would have to act firmly if anyone attempts to break the party.

“Tomorrow if anyone is attempting to break the party (NCP) then it is their strategy. If we have to take any stand, then we have to do it firmly," he had said.

"It is improper to talk about this today because we have not discussed this (issue),” the NCP chief said without further elaborating.

On Friday, Ajit Pawar said that he would "100 percent like to be the chief minister" of Maharashtra and that the NCP can stake a claim to the CM's post now also instead of waiting for 2024, when the Assembly polls are due in the state.

In his weekly column in Marathi daily 'Saamana' on April 16, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed Sharad Pawar had told Uddhav Thackeray during their meeting that nobody wants to switch over but his (Pawar's) family is being targeted.

"If anyone takes a personal decision to leave the NCP, it is an individual issue, but as a party "we will never go with the BJP," Raut had quoted Pawar senior as saying.

Notably, Ajit Pawar has denied speculation that he and a group of MLAs loyal to him might align with the BJP and said he would be with the NCP till he is alive.

On 19 April, Nationalist Congress Party's Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule indicated that there will be two political "blasts" in the next 15 days--one in Delhi and another in Maharashtra. He comments came when reporters asked her about Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar's statement that there will be (political) "bomb blasts" in the next 15 days in the state. "There will be one in Delhi and the other in the state," Sule, the daughter of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, said without further elaborating.