Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar's son Parth Pawar has purportedly appealed to the Sharad Pawar faction MLAs to join his father's party.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) after the NCP's brilliant performance in the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly polls, Parth wrote, "I am deeply grateful to the people of Maharashtra for entrusting us with a clear mandate for development and good governance."
"I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the elected representatives from their respective constituencies, who will strive tirelessly for the welfare and progress of every citizen in this great state," he added.
Parth further said, "I also warmly welcome Members of the Legislative Assembly who place their trust in the leadership of Honourable Ajit Dada Pawar to join the ranks of NCP (Ajit Pawar faction). Together, let us work towards our shared vision of building a true welfare state."
Of the 288 Assembly constituencies in the state, Mahayuti secured a massive mandate of 230 seats. The BJP won 132 seats while its allies - the Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, won 57 seats, and the NCP, led by Ajit Pawar, won 41 seats.
On the other hand, the constituents of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a rude jolt with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning 20 seats, Congress 16, and NCP-SP Sharad Pawar only 10 seats.
Meanwhile, Pune NCP President Deepak Mankar said that the party workers are in favour of making 'dada' (Ajit Pawar) the state's chief minister.
"The workers of NCP wish that under 'dada' (Ajit Pawar), Maharashtra will get a good direction. Dada has the capacity to do work... we know the kind of work he did in Maharashtra as deputy CM in the last 2.5 years... let's see... Mahayuti is taking everyone along," Mankar said.
When asked about the CM's face, he said it had been decided that leaders of three parties would sit together and decide on the chief minister.
"PM Modi and Amit Shah will take the decision, everyone will sit together. Fadnavis, Shinde, and Dada (Ajit Pawar) - all three of them are capable," he added.
