Sharad Pawar's Grandnephew Rohit Pawar Joining Congress? What He Told NDTV

Is the young and aggressive NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar going to join the Congress? That has been a topic of political speculation in Maharashtra. A BJP MLC, Parinay Fuke, added to the buzz saying Rohit Pawar - the grandnephew of Sharad Pawar - was considering joining the Congress and had toured Bhandara-Gondia to "please" Maharashtra Congress leader Nana Patole.

Bhandara-Gondia is in the Vidarbha region and Nana Patole represented the Bhandara-Gondia constituency in the 16th Lok Sabha from May 2014 to May 2018. Fuke also alluded to reports of a rift between Rohit Pawar and Supriya Sule, the NCP (SP) MP from Baramati, the Pawar family stronghold.

In recent times, Rohit Pawar has performed well as an Opposition leader and even raised issues that have had statewide resonance. And then came his praise for Rahul Gandhi, which has led to speculation if he will switch to the Congress.

When Rohit Pawar visited the NDTV office on Wednesday for Ganpati celebrations, NDTV put that question to him directly. Is he going to join the Congress? The answer was not a flat denial. It was simply a listing of the reasons of why there were no differences with the Congress and also why there was no reason for him to join the Congress.

The Karjat-Jamkhed MLA from the NCP (SP) told NDTV that the ideological group he is with is the ideology of the Congress.

"If we talk about the situation today then the ideology that I am with, is the ideology of the Congress. Today Rahul Gandhi Ji is Leader of Opposition and he is firm on his ideology. He is aggressively taking that ideology forward which I like. He is handling people's issues and that's why somewhere, just like I am influenced by Pawar Saheb's work and his ideology, I am also influenced by Rahul Gandhi's work," Rohit Pawar said.

"The Congress and our party are different legally but if you look at the thought, then we are the same," he said.

"So, we are together. We are in the INDIA alliance and we are there along with Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena and the Congress. So, there is no reason for me to go to the Congress. We want to work together and, in the future, we can work together more aggressively."

With speculation also growing over whether the NCP (SP) could find a place in the Union cabinet if it joins hands with the BJP, many have questioned whether Rohit Pawar will be able to make the ideological switch. He said he has faith the NCP chief will not switch ideologies.

"Our party will not go with the BJP, 100 per cent. We have faith in Pawar Saheb. In his whole life, Pawar Saheb for 65 years has fought against the non-progressive ideology of BJP. Why will he leave the ideology of the Congress and go to the ideology of the BJP? I have faith in Pawar Saheb and that's why a situation will not arise where we go with the BJP. If we don't go with the BJP only, we will remain a separate entity and we will work with the Congress," Rohit Pawar told NDTV in an exclusive interview.

Sources told NDTV that discussions have happened on the possibility of the NCP (SP) coming on board, but only a unified NCP is acceptable to the BJP as an NDA ally. So if there is any movement on that front, perhaps Rohit Pawar will have to make a choice.

For now, he remains confident that the NCP (SP) will not make the shift and there is no reason for him to join the Congress.