By Tejas

Pune, September 6, 2024: A major dispute broke out today during the annual general meeting of the Bhimashankar Sugar Factory in Ambegaon Taluka, as tensions flared between two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Supporters of Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar came face-to-face, leading to a two-hour standoff between the groups.

The disagreement began during the meeting when Devdatta Nikam, a prominent leader from the Sharad Pawar faction, accused state minister Dilip Walse Patil, who is aligned with Ajit Pawar, of biassed treatment. Nikam, who is planning to contest the upcoming assembly election against Walse Patil, alleged that he and his supporters were deliberately sidelined during the meeting.

"We were not given seats or allowed on stage. Walse Patil used the meeting to promote himself and even brought in goons to ensure this," Nikam claimed. The confrontation between the two groups escalated as supporters from both sides clashed, with some reportedly wielding chairs during the altercation. Despite calls for calm from Minister Walse Patil, tensions continued to rise for two hours.

The situation was eventually brought under control when the police intervened, asking Nikam to leave the premises. Following his exit, Nikam reiterated his allegations, accusing Walse Patil of orchestrating the incident to remove him from the meeting. However, the Ajit Pawar faction denied these claims, dismissing them as politically motivated.

Leaders from the Ajit Pawar group, including Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil, hit back at Nikam, accusing him of creating unnecessary chaos ahead of the elections. "What was the point of this uproar at the annual general meeting of the Bhimashankar factory, which is one of the best in the country? All it did was tarnish the image of the factory," Adhalrao Patil countered.