Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said on Monday that senior party leader and his nephew, Ajit Pawar , had confessed tohim that allying with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was a mistake. The 78-year-old leader also indicated that he may forgive Ajit for the misadventure that barely lasted 80 hours.In an interview to a Marathi TV channel, ABP Majha,Pawar also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made an offer to work together, which he rejected.

Pawar said that Ajit, who was widely considered as the number 2 in the party before he broke ranks and backed BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis,was irked by the long negotiation and disagreements between the NCP, Congress and the Shiv Sena on November 22.“Irked with that disagreement and the ongoing discussion with Congress, Ajit took this call that night. He was told oath hasto be taken immediately, if this deal had to be done. Later, Ajit told me hemade a mistake,’’ said Pawar.

Pawar, however, indicated that his nephew would be forgivenand pointed out that a large section within the NCP looked up to Ajit’sleadership. “He is always available for them [party workers and leaders] when Iam busy in Delhi. This is whether we are in power or not.”Pawar’s comments comedays after the three-party Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi took oath afteroutmanoeuvring the government of Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, which collapsed threedays after taking oath when it became clear that it didn’t have a majority.

The NCP chief met Modi two days before the BJP formed thegovernment with Fadnavis as chief minister (CM) and Ajit as his deputy onNovember 23.“After our discussion on the unseasonal rain, Modi said he would beglad if we could work together. He pointed out that our opinions on issues ofdevelopment, industries often converged. I told him we have good personalequations and that will not change. I also told him on national issues, I willsupport him. I cannot join him because my party’s ideology is different.’’