Sharad Pawar ‘peeps into’ room where Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil held closed-door meeting

PUNE: NCP (SP) state chief Jayant Patil on Saturday had a closed-door meeting with NCP chief Ajit Pawar at Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI) at Manjari for 30 minutes in NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar's presence on the premises and the latter peeped into the room where the two were holding talks, sources said.
Later, speaking to reporters, Ajit Pawar downplayed the meeting amid speculations that Patil would quit his party. He said he discussed the use of artificial intelligence in agriculture with Patil, who is a member of the committee formed to explore the idea.
The deputy CM, who holds the finance portfolio, said he had proposed an allocation of Rs500 crore for AI in agriculture in the recent state budget and he was seeking opinions of all committee members. Patil met him on the issue at VSI while he was there, Ajit Pawar said.
They were at VSI to attend its governing council meeting. Sharad Pawar is on the institute's board of trustees. Ajit Pawar reached the institute around 9am and started meeting visitors. After some time, Patil arrived and entered Ajit Pawar's room. While the two were having a closed-door discussion, Sharad Pawar and NCP's Dilip Walse Patil, who were passing through the corridor, paused for a second and peeped inside the room. After a glance, both walked ahead.
Sources from NCP(SP) said Patil's meeting with Ajit Pawar was pertaining to agriculture issues and there was no question of him leaving the party. "Even Ajit Pawar clarified that Patil met him to discuss agriculture issues and nothing else," a source said.
The Ajit Pawar-Jayant Patil meeting fuelled reactions from MVA and Mahayuti politicians. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut criticised the closed-door meeting. "After we (undivided Shiv Sena) parted ways, we never met MLAs from the other faction or even held closed-door meetings. They (NCP factions) have reasons to keep meeting each other; VSI is one such place," Raut said.
NCP MLA Amol Mitkari said Patil was not happy with NCP(SP).