Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at the infighting within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and its chief Sharad Pawar's failure in handling it.
The Prime Minister, in Maharashtra's Wardha on Monday to launch the BJP-Shiv Sena combine's campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, said Pawar's decision to pull out of the polls is indicative of which way the wind is blowing. "Pawar decided against contesting the polls sensing the situation was not favourable. There is infighting in the NCP and the party is slipping from Pawar's grip," he said.
Modi said that a feud within the Pawar family and nephew Ajit Pawar tightening his grip over the party have become Sharad Pawar's Achilles Heel. "Pawar's grip on the party is loosening. Pawar's sahab's nephew (Ajit Pawar) is trying to take control of the party. Because of this, the NCP faced problems with ticket distribution," he claimed.
PM Modi also accused Pawar, a former Union agriculture minister, of ignoring the problems of farmers "despite being a farmer himself". "Today, Pawar sahab has been bowled by people. His false promises have been exposed and he has been hit-wicket by his nephew," he said. The Prime Minister also accused Pawar of encouraging dynastic rule.
Responding to these remarks, the NCP hit back, saying the party knew how to respect elders in its fold, unlike the BJP. Dismissing remarks that Pawar ignored farmers, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said the former agriculture minister's contribution to the farm sector was evident for everybody to see.