NCP split: Supriya Sule's surprise remark on 'brother' Ajit Pawar amid rebellion, asserts 'can never have...'

Hours after NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde government, the party's working president and his cousin Supriya Sule on Sunday said the developments in the party will not impact the Opposition's unity.

Addressing a press conference late at night in Mumbai, Supriya Sule said her father and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar's stature will rise further. "Our credibility will only rise after this," she said. 

She also said that Ajit Pawar may have different views, but she can never fight with her elder brother and that she will always love him as a sister. Ajit Pawar on Sunday joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra as deputy chief minister, while eight other party leaders were inducted as ministers. 

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Sule, whose elevation as party working president last month is said to have triggered Ajit Pawar's revolt, said since 2019 when he first joined the short-lived government led by Devendra Fadnavis to 2023, she has matured a lot with the responsibility of the party. She said she will not mix personal and professional relationships. 

"I can never have a fight with my brother," she said. "I am boring, steady, and not impulsive...Emotional relationships and professional work are two different things. I will never mix the two," she said. 

To a question on how her day was given the hectic political developments, Sule said it was a challenging day like many other days. To a question on what transpired at the meeting at 'Devgiri', Ajit Pawar's official residence in Mumbai in the morning, Sule said what was discussed between her and her brother will remain between them only. 

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The Baramati MP said the party will work with renewed vigour for strengthening the organisation and for the welfare of the state and the country. 

Nationalist Congress Party's senior leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday met some party leaders and MLAs at his official residence in Mumbai. Sule said Ajit Pawar may have different views. "We both are mature enough to compartmentalise our lives on personal and professional fronts," she said. 

"Nobody knows how many MLAs are with Ajit Pawar," Sule said. When asked if she was talking to any of them, she said, "I talk to them every time. Every MLA of NCP is precious. We have love, affection, and respect. We have lived as a family," she said.