Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on NCP working president Praful Patel, accusing him of being more aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) than with his own party, reported the PTI.
Raut said Patel must act only in a manner acceptable to Maharashtra and the Marathi manoos.
Addressing reporters, Raut said the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was founded and led by the Pawar family, not by Patel.
“Praful Patel should do only what is acceptable to Maharashtra and the Marathi manoos. The NCP is a party of Pawars, not Patels. He is a bigger devotee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah than a leader of his own party,” Raut alleged, according to the PTI.
He also claimed that NCP state president Sunil Tatkare was leaning towards the BJP.
Remarks come amid NCP leadership uncertainty
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader`s comments came a day after Patel said he was not in the race for the post of NCP national president, which fell vacant following the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a tragic air crash last week.
Praful Patel had also expressed displeasure over people not associated with the NCP commenting on decisions taken by the party after Ajit Pawar’s death, reported the PTI.
However, opposition leaders have continued to target Patel, accusing him of harbouring ambitions to lead the party.
BJP blamed for splits in NCP and Shiv Sena
Sanjay aut further alleged that the BJP was responsible for engineering splits in both the original NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar, and the Shiv Sena, established by Bal Thackeray, the news agency reported.
Commenting on the Chandrapur mayoral elections, where no single party has secured a majority, Raut said Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has directed party corporators not to align with the BJP.
In the 66-member Chandrapur Municipal Corporation, the Congress emerged as the single largest party with 27 seats, followed by the BJP with 23 seats and Shiv Sena (UBT) with six seats. The BSP and Shiv Sena won one seat each.
(with PTI inputs)
