There will be no alliance with Ajit Pawar’s faction: Jayant Patil

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Jayant Patil on Thursday said there is no question of an alliance with the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party. Addressing a press conference here, Patil said the Sharad Pawar-led party received tremendous support from the people in the recent Lok Sabha elections, due to which it won eight out of the 10 seats it contested under the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s NCP won only from Raigad, while it lost the prestige battle in Baramati and Shirur. Patil said, “NCP has split into two parties. Both have their own election symbols. There is no question of an alliance between the two.” When asked about the allegations leveled by his party colleague and former state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh against Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Patil said the senior BJP leader should not engage in such politics. Deshmukh had alleged that Fadnavis had tried to pressure him to sign false affidavits against Shiv Sena (Uttar Pradesh) leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Anil Parab and undivided NCP leader Ajit Pawar.