Pune: HOURS of Maharashtra Health Minister Tanaji Sawant, who belongs to Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, said he vomits after sitting with NCP ministers in cabinet meeting, the Ajit Pawar's party has threatened to quit the Mahayuti Government.

''Either he remains in Shinde Cabinet or our party. If he is not immediately sacked, we will quit.. Our national president Ajit Pawar to quit the cabinet forthwith,'' NCP spokeperson Umesh Patil told mediapersons.

The NCP spokesperson said Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will not attend any cabinet meeting till CM takes a decision regarding Sawant.

"Not just our president, even all our ministers should boycott cabinet meetings till Sawant is sacked. We will not even accept Sawant's apology or statement that he was misinterpreted. We want him out immediately,'' Patil told reporters.

Speaking at a public event in Dharashiv on Thursday, Sawant said,''I have never got along with Congress and NCP all my life. In the cabinet meeting, when I sit next to each other, I come out of the meeting, I come out of the meeting and vomit.''

Reacting to Minister Tanaji Sawant’s recent comments, on DyCm Ajit Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) Chief Spokesperson, Mahesh Tapase said that DyCM Ajit Pawar has lost all self-respect and there is growing discomfort within the ranks of the Shinde-led government. Tapase’s comments come after Sawant, openly remarked that sitting next to Ajit Pawar and other NCP ministers during the cabinet meeting made him feel like vomiting—a statement that has sent shockwaves through Maharashtra’s political landscape.

Tapase expressed disbelief that how Ajit Pawar’s party would tolerate such an insult. "I never imagined that Ajit Dada, who once commanded immense respect within the NCP, would compromise his self-respect for power," Tapase added. He further criticised Ajit Pawar’s decision to break away from Sharad Pawar’s party, questioning the price of such a move, which appears to have led to public humiliation rather than political gain.

Tapase pointed out that dissatisfaction within the ruling coalition has been simmering for some time. The RSS and BJP have openly held Ajit Pawar responsible for the BJP’s setbacks in the recent Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, further straining relations within the mahayuti alliance. 

The growing discomfort among Shinde Sena members over Ajit Pawar’s inclusion in the government has now been starkly revealed through Sawant’s remarks.

Ajit Pawar, who justified his decision to break away from Sharad Pawar & join the Shinde government as a move for development, was supported by senior leaders like Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, and Sunil Tatkare. However, Tapase questioned why these leaders have remained silent in the face of such blatant disrespect. "Minister Tanaji Sawant’s statement has effectively erased Ajit Dada’s political standing, and yet, his own party members remain silent," Tapase said.

He also took aim at Chhagan Bhujbal’s earlier assertion that the NCP (AP) would secure 80 to 90 seats in the upcoming Legislative Assembly elections. "Given the current state of affairs, Ajit Dada’s NCP might not even secure 25 seats, and it’s this desperation that has led to such humiliating treatment," Tapase added.

Recalling the past, Tapase lamented how sitting next to Ajit Pawar used to be a matter of pride among party cadres when Ajit Dada was still with Sharad Pawar’s NCP. "Today, it is disheartening to see him endure such indignity," Tapase stated, hinting that Sawant’s words likely reflect the sentiments of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.