In a change of heart, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Friday said that there is no split in the party and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is still their leader.

"There is no conflict that he (Ajit Pawar) is our leader, there is no split in NCP. How does a split happen in a party? It happens when a big group separates from the party at the national level. But there is no such situation in NCP today. Yes, some leaders took a different stance but this cannot be called a split. They can do so in a democracy," Pawar told news agency ANI in Baramati.

The remarks came a dayafter his daughter and party's working president Supriya Sule said Ajit is a senior leader and MLA of the party. "Now, he (Ajit Pawar) has taken a stand that is against the party, and we have given a complaint to the assembly speaker and are awaiting his response," NCP's Baramati MP Sule said on Thursday.

When asked about Sule's statement that there is no split in NCP and Ajit was a leader of the party, Pawar senior said, "Yes, there is no question about it. How can anybody say that there is a split in NCP? There's no question that Ajit Pawar is our party leader," he said.

"What does a split in a political party mean? Split occurs when a large group in a party is separated at the national level. But no such thing has happened here. Some people left the party, some took a different stand...In democracy it is their right to take a decision," he added.

Ajit and eight other NCP MLAs had joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state on July 2.

With inputs from PTI

First Published:Aug 25, 2023 10:19 AM IST