"My loyalty is with Ajit Dada (Pawar) only: NCP Pune chief Deepak Mankar

His comments came amidst the recent defection of 29 former corporators, including Pimpri-Chinchwad city unit chief Ajit Gavhane, from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP to Sharad Pawar's faction and speculation is rife that leaders from Pune City will follow suit.

Pune NCP president Deepak Mankar told ANI on Wednesday, "My loyalty is with Ajit Dada (Pawar) only. Irrespective of whether he gives me a position or not, I will stay with him. I will leave politics and sit at home, but I will not upset Dada...We have the strongest organisation in Pune..."

Mankar emphatically stated that "The party in Pune City is intact, and no one is leaving. He acknowledged having certain demands, such as a seat in the Maharashtra assembly council but clarified that he wouldn't leave the party even if those demands weren't met.

Three other senior leaders of the NCP's Pimpri-Chinchwad unit-- Rahul Bhosale, Pankaj Bhalekar, and Yash Sane-- who quit the party on Tuesday also joined the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction).

In reaction to this, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) working president Supriya Sule said that Sharad Pawar has been working for development in Maharashtra and at the Centre for the last 60 years, and even people from the opposition look at him with great hope.

"I think many people in the party have different experiences. We have always ensured that our ideology of development remains strong. Pawar sahab (Sharad Pawar) has been continuously working for development in Maharashtra and at the Centre for the last 60 years. We have faith in Pawar sahab's ideology, and at the same time, many people in the opposition also look towards him with great hopes, which is why people are joining him," Sule told ANI on Wednesday

The Nationalist Congress Party split last year when Ajit Pawar led some MLAs and joined the ruling Eknath Shinde Sena-led BJP government. (ANI)