Will ask my party colleagues, says Sharad Pawar on Ajit Pawar's potential return query
Pune, July 17: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said a decision on the potential entry of any leader in his party will be a collective one, refusing to confirm whether Ajit Pawar will be accommodated if he chooses to come back.
Sharad Pawar spoke on multiple issues during his interaction with reporters in Pune when he was asked whether his estranged nephew and current Deputy Chief Minister in the Mahayuti government will be welcomed back into the party.
Responding to a query, the Pawar senior said everyone has a place in the "house".
When reporters specifically asked if Ajit Pawar has a place in the NCP (SP), Sharad Pawar said, "Such decisions cannot be taken at the personal level. My colleagues who stood by me during the crisis will be asked first".
Ajit Pawar split the NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar, in July 2023 when he led some MLAs loyal to him to join the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government, also comprising the Shiv Sena and BJP.
Ajit also secured the party name and poll symbol- the watch- from the Election Commission.
Speculations about unrest in the Ajit Pawar camp started doing rounds after the NCP led by him lost three of the four seats it contested in recent Lok Sabha elections.
The NCP (SP) led by Sharad Pawar scored an impressive victory by winning 8 out of 10 constituencies it contested in alliance with Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT).
The Pawar senior recently admitted that some MLAs from the breakaway NCP led by Ajit Pawar had met his party's senior leader Jayant Patil.
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Nine dead as fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): A fire broke out in a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, leaving nine people belonging to two families dead, including a toddler, officials said.
The incident was reported around 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
According to the police, the blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting a large-scale rescue operation.The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) said nine charred bodies were recovered from different floors.
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"One body was recovered from the first floor, five from the second floor and three from the staircase which was found locked," the DFS officer said.
Those found dead on the second floor have been identified as Arvind Jain (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), son Nishant Jain (35), daughter-in-law Anchal Jain (33) and grandchild Akash Jain.
On the third floor, three members of a family were found dead. They were identified as Nitin Jain (50), wife Shailey Jain (48) and son Samyak Jain (25).
On the first floor a woman identified as Shikha Jain (45) was found dead while her husband Naveen Jain (48) sustained injuries.
A senior police officer said, "Around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the premises during the firefighting operation. Two of them, who sustained minor injuries, were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital."
A total of 12 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in the rescue and evacuation efforts.
Police said the fire was brought under control after several hours. Efforts are underway to determine the cause of the fire, police said.
Further investigation and proceedings are underway.
