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Praful Patel opens up on NCP's setback in Lok Sabha elections: 'Ajit Pawar and I kept looking at each other's faces'

Praful Patel said they wondered whether they made any mistakes after Baramati results came

NCP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel | X

NCP leader Praful Patel has opened up on how the NCP tackled the setback faced by the party during the Lok Sabha elections, adding how they worked hard for four to five months leading to the Assembly elections.

Patel, while speaking at Navsankalp Shibir organised by the NCP in Shirdi on Sunday, said he watched the Lok Sabha election results with NCP chief and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at Devgiri, the latter's official residence. "We were looking at each other's faces," said Patel, adding they kept wondering whether the party made any mistakes.

"After Baramati results came, we wondered: Did we make any mistakes? Has Maharashtra rejected us? These thoughts came to our mind," Patel said. "Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister for the third time in the country. The question was what was the role of NCP in this government?" he said.

But, they decided not to take the defeat to heart and started working hard. "Perhaps that moment played an instrumental part in us pulling off a big victory. We faced the elections as a grand alliance," the Rajya Sabha MP said.  

He thanked the 42 MLAs who stood with Pawar. MLAs. "They contested in the party symbol and got elected. Even now, 90 per cent of our workers follow Congress ideology. Our ideology is the same. We cannot change ideology overnight. When we first met Modi, we said that Shiv-Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar is our ideology. He said that you should be firm on that ideology," Patel added.

He took a dig at Congress, stating that the party is waning in Maharashtra. "The NCP will fill that gap. Many of them want to join the NCP. "

Patel also recalled the 1999 decision by the NCP to go with the Congress to form the government.  "At that time, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had invited us to join hands with the BJP and Shiv Sena in the state and NDA at the Centre. Had we listened to that, the Congress would have been finished by now. We were under a big banyan tree. That is why we could not grow. Now we have taken a free breath. Therefore, we will grow our party," Praful Patel told the NCP workers.