Even as the family members of deceased NCP leader Ajit Pawar ruled out any sort of conspiracy in the death of the leader soon after such theories were floated by the opposition leaders, AAP leader Somnath Bharti cast aspersions on the BJP, claiming that the way today's politics is going, the BJP is "desperate to do anything to remain in power."
According to him, for the BJP, it is all about winning elections and staying in power.
"Now, it is crucial to assess Ajit Pawar's death in this context, and those in power have a responsibility to conduct an investigation and present the truth to the nation...He (Pawar) had some evidence that was making the BJP uncomfortable," news agency ANI quoted him as saying.
He pointed out that it has become clear that the Ajit Pawar faction and the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, which had split, were about to reunite. "Ajit Pawar was making such preparations, and after that, he would have taken on the BJP head-on. So, in this context, it is the government's responsibility to answer it," he said.
A close associate of the deceased leader, Kiran Gujar, who has been associated with Ajit Pawar since before his entry into politics in the mid-1980s, had confirmed to news agency PTI that Ajit Pawar was keen on the merger of the two factions of the NCP and it was about to materialise soon. "He was hundred per cent keen on merging both the factions. He had told me five days ago that the entire process was complete and the merger was imminent in the next few days," Gujar was quoted as saying.
Bharti claimed that he is not making any direct accusation, but wants to know the circumstances of his death in the plane crash.
Calling the death "tragic", he said the way the deaths occurred raises suspicion that there is something behind it.
"If you recall, there was an Air India crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. Besides 240 people, Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of the BJP, also died in that crash. Eight months have passed since then, and no investigation report into that air crash has been released to the public," the AAP leader was quoted as saying.