"Not true, many rumours spread about me": NCP's Ajit Pawar on talks of switching to BJP

Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Maharashtra deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar on Tuesday dismissed "rumours" about switching over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and emphasised that he plans to remain with the NCP.
"No truth in the rumours spread about me. I am with the NCP and will remain with the party," Ajit Pawar said addressing media persons here. "I have not taken the signatures of any MLAs. Now, all rumours must stop," the Maharashtra NCP leader said on speculations that he had taken a meeting of MLAs who wanted to switch to the to ruling Eknath Shinde-BJP alliance.
Earlier today, Ajit Pawar's uncle and NCP chief Sharad Pawar had tweeted," Ajit Pawar is busy with election-related work. All this talk is only in the media."
Ajit Pawar also in a tweet issued a stout denial of the news reports, "There are some media reports saying that I have convened a meeting of the (NCP) MLAs on Tuesday. This is completely false. I wish to clarify that I have not called a meeting of my party MLAs and office bearers."
This comes just days after the BJP's Maharashtra chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule brushed off speculations linking Ajit Pawar to the ruling camp, saying he wasn't aware of any such move.
He further clarified that the Sharad Pawar-led NCP hasn't held any discussions with him in this connection. "I don't have any information about him joining the BJP or having talks with anyone in the party. He has not held any discussions with me," Bawankule had told ANI.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Bal Thackeray) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday, "These are baseless rumours. I spoke with him (Ajit Pawar) and other (NCP) leaders this morning."
"If those spreading such canards think that they can weaken the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) by resorting to such ploys, then they are mistaken," the Shiva Sena (UBT) MP added.
There was a buzz about Ajit Pawar joining the BJP after the NCP leader recently hailed the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while adding he had full faith in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), in a remark seen as a departure from the Opposition line on the subject.
Backing the EVMs, Maharashtra's Leader of Opposition in the Assembly said if the devices were faulty, there would not be any Opposition-ruled states. He cited the governments of West Bengal and Telangana and other states as examples to support his argument.
"Personally, I have full faith in EVMs. If the EVMs were faulty, then we would not have any Opposition-led governments like in Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It is not possible to manipulate EVMs as there are lots of checks and balances involved to ensure their efficacy," Ajit Pawar told mediapersons earlier,
"If somehow, it is proven that EVMs were manipulated, there will be big chaos in the country. I don't think anyone would dare to do such a thing (challenge the efficacy of EVMs). Sometimes, some people cast aspersions on EVMs after losing elections. One has to respect the mandate of the people," he added. (ANI)