'Dhokaa Uddhavji Ne Diya...': Devendra Fadnavis On What Happened in Maharashtra in 2019 | Watch

Veteran BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis opened up about the 2019 Maharashtra political drama and said that then Shiv Sena (UBT) supremo Uddhav Thackeray was responsible for how things unfolded at the time.

In an interview with ANI Editor Smita Prakash which was recorded before the recent crisis in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Fadnavis also acknowledged and praised Sharad Pawar’s role in uniting the opposition parties.

Explaining how the 2019 political drama unfolded, Deputy CM Fadnavis said that Uddhav Thackeray ditched the BJP and formed a government with Congress and NCP to get enough numbers.

“After coming to the majority in Maharashtra, when Uddhav Thackeray understood that numbers were odd despite getting the majority, he went into different a direction to form the government,” said Fadnavis.

“Uddhav Ji decided to separate from us and go with two other parties so that the government can be formed. If we had ten more seats at the time, then Uddhav Thackeray would not have done this. He did so because we lacked seats. We lost the alliance because numbers were such,” he added.

Praising Sharad Pawar’s role in bringing opposition under one roof, Fadnavis said that despite reeling from health issues, Pawar is politically alert and strong enough to be the driver of opposition unity.

“The only person to bring the opposition parties together is Pawar Sahib. And the force behind bringing the opposition parties together, who cannot see each other face to face is Pawar Sahib,” he added.

Talking about Pawar’s health and calls for him to quit politics, Fadnavis said, “He has health reasons but he is fit. He is politically, totally alert. He is counted among those politicians who know politics from every side. He wants to transfer the legacy of his party just like all family parties want. To transfer his legacy, he has put Supriyaji in the forefront.”

Since the interview was recorded before the Ajit Pawar NCP crisis, there was no mention of the recent developments but it came at a time when Maharashtra politics is in turmoil.

Last week, in a massive showdown, nine NCP MLAs, including Ajit Pawar, were sworn in as ministers in the Maharashtra government at a surprise cabinet expansion on Sunday.

Ajit Pawar, with senior party leaders Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, and Dilip Walse Patil by his side, asserted to be the real NCP.