Jayant Patil on NCP Split and Future of Maha Vikas Aghadi
“We had to make sure votes don’t get divided,” said Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCPSP) Maharashtra chief Jayan Patil as he greeted thousands of his supporters standing on a jeep.
The staunch Sharad Pawar loyalist was on his way to file his nomination from Islampur for the eight consecutive time, a rare feat achieved by many.
As the rally passed through the narrow lanes of the small town in Maharashtra’s Sangli, some 20,000 peope had gathered to get a glimpse and greet ‘JP saheb’, as he is called by many.
Patil has been senior Pawar’s closest confidantes, with most of his peers having switched to Ajit Pawar’s NCP after the party split in July last year.
On ‘Badi Badi Baatein’, the leader had a quick chat on his campaign trail to discuss the logic behind the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s seat-sharing formula, the perception of his party being the strongest of the three allies, and why the alliance has left a hefty chunk of seats to smaller parties of the INDIA bloc in the state.