Ajit Pawar's support from 40 MLAs for an NCP-BJP coalition? In response, Sharad Pawar
Sharad Pawar denied rumours that his nephew, the former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar, will make another political run.

Sharad Pawar, the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), on Tuesday shot off rumours about his nephew Ajit Pawar, a former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, and said that no one had convened a conference of NCP MLAs.

In the midst of heightened speculation in Maharashtra's political circles over his increasing closeness to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Sharad Pawar's remarks came a day after Ajit Pawar likewise denied allegations that he had summoned a meeting of MLAs on Tuesday.

Sharad Pawar said that whatever debates are taking place in the minds of the media are not present in "our minds" while speaking to reporters in the Purandar neighbourhood of Maharashtra's Pune district. "...All of these conversations are meaningless. The reports don't signify anything. There is just one idea on everyone's mind when it comes to the NCP, the party president remarked, and that thought is how to make the party stronger.
 

Earlier, The New Indian Express stated that Ajit Pawar was gathering permission signatures from his parliamentarians inside his party in a bid to succeed Eknath Shinde as chief minister of Maharashtra in coalition with the BJP.

"So far, permission signatures have been provided by around 40 of the 53 NCP MLAs. When the time comes, the list will be sent to the governor, according to a "well-placed source" in the party, the newspaper reports.

The article also said that Sharad Pawar had not yet launched a counterattack while Ajit Pawar personally called NCP MLAs to get their signatures. In order to maintain the unity of his party in 2019, Sharad Pawar summoned a meeting of all NCP legislators after Ajit quit.
 

While Sharad Pawar began a damage-control operation, two MLAs from the Ajit Pawar camp had publicly backed the leader.

NCP MLAs Anna Bansode and Manikrao Kokate, who are both thought to be close to Ajit, said that they would always be devoted to him. Bansode claimed in an interview with TV9 Marathi that he had offered Ajit Pawar his entire support even when he attempted to form a coalition with BJP incumbent Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in November 2019. I will continue to support him in all of his future decisions since I remain his faithful friend.

According to Sharad Pawar, no one has convened a conference of NCP MLAs in Mumbai, despite rumours to the contrary. His party is a member of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which also includes the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress. He said that the party's state president (Jayant Patil) and another party leader (Ajit Pawar) were both occupied with the business of the party and giving advice to everyone.