Why did Ajit Pawar rush to Delhi after Sharad Pawar took back his resignation?

New Delhi: Former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar rushed to Delhi immediately after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) boss Sharad Pawar took back his resignation on Friday.

The move once again intrigued the NCP leaders who were for the past few days trying hard to persuade the Maratha strongman to withdraw his resignation and continue to steer the party he along with PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar had founded in 1999.

Even on the day (Tuesday) when the senior Pawar announced his decision to step down from the top party post, Ajit Pawar was the only NCP leader who urged the workers to accept his uncle's decision.

Apparently, Ajit Pawar had been in touch with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for some time to strike a deal. The BJP is keen to dump chief minister Eknath Shinde since he appears to be a liability for it especially for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections given that he has not been able to consolidate his position among the Shiv Sena workers and supporters who have strongly rallied behind Uddhav Thackeray.

It is said that Ajit Pawar rushed to Delhi to meet union home minister Amit Shah though there is no confirmation of any such meeting.

Last time also, there were speculations that he had met Shah and briefed him about his plan.

However, Sharad Pawar on Friday asserted that no such meeting had taken place.

Though the NCP rank and file had vehemently rejected Sharad Pawar's resignation, there were few who saw this as an opportunity for his daughter Supriya Sule to take the mantle from her father.

Not many people in the NCP came out in support of Ajit Pawar who is said to be enjoying the support of just around 18 of the 53 legislators.

At the press conference where Sharad Pawar announced the withdrawal of his earlier decision, he also informed that Sule did not accept to become the NCP working president.

The NCP chief insisted that there has to be a succession plan in every political party and that he will try to groom new leadership.

All eyes are now on Ajit Pawar as he is expected to take a decision on his future course of action, especially after he was completely isolated on the issue of Sharad Pawar's resignation as the NCP boss. Over to him.