The recent meeting between Jayant Patil, Maharashtra unit president of the Sharad Pawar-headed NCP-SP, and state BJP president and Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule has raised political rumblings in the state.
The one-hour talk, held on Monday evening, coincides with continued media gossip about Patil's quietude after the party's poll defeat and speculations about his possible realignment from the Pawar group to the BJP.
Interestingly, BJP leader and Water Resources Minister (Godavari and Krishna Valley Development Corporations) Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil was also present at the meeting.
However, Patil brushed aside any political agenda behind the meeting, stating that it was strictly pertaining to issues related to his Islampur Assembly constituency.
"I met Bawankule about some issues related to the Revenue Department concerning my constituency. We discussed some matters on some topics in that connection," he explained.
Bawankule also echoed the same, reiterating that the meeting was for individual work and was not political in nature.
In spite of continued speculation, Patil has repeatedly asserted his loyalty to Sharad Pawar, stating categorically that he has no intention of changing sides.
After Ajit Pawar joined the MahaYuti government in July 2023, Patil decided to stick with Sharad Pawar and led the party in its new avatar, NCP-SP. In the Lok Sabha elections, the party had contested 10 seats and won eight.
Ahead of the state Assembly polls, Patil led the Shivswarajya Yatra and campaigned heavily for party nominees. But the NCP-SP, which contested on the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, could win just 10 out of the 87 seats it fought.
Following the poor Assembly poll performance, both Pawar and Patil held meetings with elected members of the legislature, members of Parliament and losers in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
In this meeting, a faction of party workers encouraged Pawar to replace Patil as the state unit chief and bring in a new leadership council, including the party's frontal organization heads, before the forthcoming local and civic body polls.
Though Pawar promised them an organizational changeover, Patil still remains in his role as the state unit chief.
