Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said his party will not go with the BJP though some "well-wishers" are trying to persuade him.
Addressing reporters at Sangola in Solapur district of Maharashtra, Pawar said there was nothing wrong if his nephew Ajit Pawar meets him.
The 'secret' meeting between Sharad Pawar and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who is part of the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra and heads the group of rebel NCP MLAs, at the residence of a businessman in Pune on Saturday caused a flutter.
“As the national president of the NCP, I am making it clear that my party (NCP) will not go with the BJP. Any association with the Bharatiya Janata Party does not fit in NCP's political policy,” the NCP chief said.
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He revealed that some "well-wishers" are trying to persuade him but he will never align with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"Some of us (Ajit Pawar-led NCP group) have taken a different stand. Some of our well-wishers are trying to see if there can be any change in our stand. That is why they are trying to have a cordial discussion with us,” he said without taking names.
Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government last month, while eight MLAs of NCP supporting him took oath as ministers.
Speaking about his meeting with Ajit Pawar, the senior Pawar said, “I want to tell you a fact that he is my nephew. What is wrong with meeting my nephew? If a senior person in a family desires to meet another family member, there should not be any issue with that. There's nothing wrong if Ajit Pawar comes to meet me. We didn't meet secretly".
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Sharad Pawar said several leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc will meet in Mumbai on August 31 where many issues will be discussed.
The NCP chief also said that people will hand over the reins of the state to Maha Vikas Aghadi- comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar group), and Congress.
Notably, the Pawar senior shared the dais with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis in Solapur district to unveil the statue of late MLA Ganpatrao Deshmukh on Sunday.
Sharad Pawar also said the Central and Maharashtra governments should communicate with farmers of the state.
"If a government is changed, officers are also shifted which directly affects the farming industry," the former Union agriculture minister said.
He said NCP will start a dialogue with farmers of Maharashtra and will take up their issues with the government.
Responding to a query, Sharad Pawar said he has not yet met Nawab Malik, a senior NCP leader who was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in a money laundering case recently.
-With PTI Input
