pune

Updated: Apr 12, 2018 15:13 IST

The issue of who will be number one in Maharashtra within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) seems to have been sorted out with Supriya Sule, party MP and daughter of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, saying that the party in the state will go ahead under the leadership of Ajit Pawar.

Speaking at a public rally in Pune on Wednesday held as a part of NCP’s ‘Halla Bol’ (raise voice) agitation, Sule said, “I have come here to ask party workers to give up their lethargy. Maharashtra, henceforth, will go ahead under the leadership of Ajit dada.”

Seen as mass leader, Ajit Pawar, has already served as the deputy chief minister in the previous NCP-Congress government.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sule asked party workers to work hard to see Ajit Pawar as the next chief minister of Maharashtra. “To see Ajit Pawar become chief minister, every worker will not just have to come to public rallies but also reach out to voters.”

Sule’s remarks are significant given that NCP in the past had several aspirants for the top post in Maharashtra and Pawar’s daughter was also seen by many within the party as the top contender. The demise of RR Patil and arrest of Chhagan Bhujbal, however, has cut down the list.

Taking on the chief minister, Sule said that Devendra Fadnavis would not be allowed to step out of the Mantralaya if the government does not recall a Class 10 textbook, the content of which has political overtones. The recently released SSC textbook for History and Political Science invited criticism from political parties due to this issue.

The book has many references to major political parties from Maharashtra. One of the references, under a topic related to the elections, says, “Family monopoly in politics is a major problem before democracy in India. Monopoly of just one family in politics reduces democratic space. Common people cannot participate in the public sector.”

Sule, while addressing the public rally in Pune, said that the government is trying to present distorted history to the children of the state. “As a mother and parent, I have decided to launch an agitation. If the government doesn’t recall or change the contents of the book in eight days, we will not let the chief minister come out of his office in Mantralaya.”

In its last leg, NCP’s ‘Halla Bol’ agitation reached Pune on Wednesday with the party sharpening its attack on the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena combine to recover lost ground it ceded in the last Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

Started in Vidarbha on December 1, 2017, the NCP launched the agitation by reaching out to people from every district of the state to criticise various decisions taken by the BJP government. The party started the fourth phase of the agitation from Kolhapur and carried out public rallies in other districts including Sangli, Satara, Solapur before reaching Pune district.

The response to the agitation in western Maharashtra has been strong with people coming out amid scorching heat, much to the enthusiasm of party, which faced poor performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and subsequent assembly elections in western Maharashtra, which once was its stronghold. The party’s tally came down from 25 seats to 15 seats in 2014 assembly polls while only four of its MPs won the polls.

According to party leaders, despite defeat in 2014, the party’s base has been intact with people responding overwhelmingly to the speeches of leaders, who targeted the BJP government.