"He'll be in trouble if I start speaking": BJP Maharashtra chief hits back at Ajit Pawar as PMC polls clash intensifies

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], January 3 : The BJP on Saturday hit back strongly at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP Chief Ajit Pawar over his recent remarks against the party, stating that the latter should first introspect before levelling allegations.
Responding to Ajit Pawar's statements given during a press conference in Pune's Pimpri-Chinchwad on Friday, BJP State President Ravindra Chavan said Pawar must reflect on which party he is referring to while making such remarks.
"This statement by Ajit Pawar has been given in the backdrop of the elections. He should first look within himself (Khud ke Gireban Mai Jhank kar dekhna Chaiye) and consider which party he is talking about. Is he referring to the party led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi?" he said.
The Chavan further warned against indulging in allegation-and-counter-allegation politics, stating that such an approach would not be beneficial.
"How allegations and counter-allegations are to be made is something Ajit Pawar will have to decide. If we start doing the same, it will create a lot of trouble for him, and he should keep that in mind," Chavan added.
He further said, "Ajit Pawar must clarify if he is doubting the BJP's leadership of Devendra Fadnavis or PM Narendra Modi? Instead of making such statements and allegations at the backdrop of the election in the media, he should go to the agencies."
Emphasising the party's development-focused agenda, the BJP said the Pune civic elections should be centred on governance and delivery of basic amenities to citizens.
"This election is about a developed Pune. It is about deciding who can provide better civic amenities to the people here, and the BJP can do that. That is precisely why I am here to say this," the BJP leader said.
The remarks come amid an intensifying political face-off between the BJP and the NCP ahead of the Pune Municipal Corporation elections. While both parties are allies in the state and central governments, they are contesting the civic polls separately, leading to sharp exchanges at the local level.
Earlier, responding to MoS Murlidhar Mohol's statement over the criminal background of NCP candidates, Ajit Pawar said, "I want to ask those who are questioning us should see who had helped a person to abscond (a fugitive Criminal) and also take out the record of the last 15 years how many candidates with a Criminal background are being filled by whom?..."
He further said that, " If a crime is registered against someone tomorrow, does that person become guilty even before the crime is proven....even allegations worth Rs 70,000 crore were made against me. The people who made those allegations against me are they all with me today or not? Tell me...
Murlidhar Mohol had questioned the candidates with criminal background being filled by the NCP in Pune and had said that, "Pune's Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar says that crime in this city should end and that koyta gangs should be eliminated. But on the other hand, if you look at the list of candidates given by his side from East Pune to South and from there to North Pune, it clearly shows what kind of elements they have accommodated. We do not know what criteria this fits into."
Ajit Pawar's faction has reunited with Sharad Pawar's faction of NCP for the Pune Municipal Corporation elections, forcing Mahayuti alliance partners to go against each other.