Shiv Sena minister Tanaji Sawant said that he feels like vomiting after sitting next to his NCP (Ajit Pawar) peers at Maharashtra cabinet meetings, sparking a row within the ruling alliance.
Upset by this remark, NCP said that it would be better to leave the alliance than tolerate such statements.
Sawant, who is also the state health minister, spoke at an event on Thursday and called himself a "hardcore Shiv Sainik who never got along" with the leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). "Even if we sit next to each other in the cabinet, I feel like vomiting after coming out," he said.
Notably, the Bharatiya Janata Party, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP are partners in the ruling Mahayuti coalition in the state. Sawant's remarks, however, have triggered tensions for this partnership.
Ajit Pawar's camp hit back at Sawant's statement, saying that it is better to quit the alliance than to listen to such statements.
Party spokesperson Umesh Patil said, "My request to our senior party leaders would be that we quit Mahayuti rather than listen to such statements. Either Tanaji Sawant should be sacked or we should quit the alliance."
NCP spokesperson and Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Amol Mitkari condemned Sawant's comment and asked whether it was the responsibility of just his party to keep the alliance intact.
Mitkari said that Sawant has made hurtful remarks in the past as well, adding that "we are only quiet to maintain the coalition dharma". It is only Chief Minister Eknath Shinde who can "treat" his nausea, the NCP leader said.
Meanwhile, rival NCP (Sharad Pawar) caught on to the opportunity and suggested that it is time for the BJP to throw Ajit Pawar's party out of Mahayuti.
Clyde Crasto, spokesperson of Sharad Pawar's camp, said that Sawant's remarks show that Mahayuti does not need NCP anymore. He said that the Organiser and the BJP cadre both had asked as to why the BJP aligned with Ajit Pawar.
"The time has come when the BJP will, slowly but steadily, throw Ajit Pawar out of Mahayuti. All is not well and cracks are getting bigger by the day," Crasto said, adding that, "It is time for Ajit Pawar to wake up and smell the coffee."
Meanwhile, another NCP(SP) spokesperson, Mahesh Tapase, claimed that Ajit has lost his self-respect and there is growing discontent within Shinde camp leaders over their alliance with the NCP.
"I never imagined that Ajit Dada, who once commanded immense respect within the NCP, would compromise his self-respect for power," Tapase said.
He said that growing discomfort within Shinde's Shiv Sena over Ajit's camp is clearly visible.
Tapase further claimed that given the current situation, the NCP might not even get 25 seats in the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra, adding that it is this desperation that has led to such humiliating treatment.
The Sharad Pawar-founded NCP split in July 2023, when Ajit Pawar and his loyal MLAs walked out to join the Mahayuti. Subsequently, the Ajit Pawar camp got the party name and its clock symbol. Ever since the split, the two sides have been having a tiff with each other.
