Entire Maharashtra knows I am not among those who run away and cry: Ajit Pawar

Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Wednesday hit back at Uddhav Thackeray for criticising him and said the Shiv Sena president should focus on the survival of the BJP-Sena alliance.

Pawar was responding to Uddhav Thackeray's remarks at a press conference yesterday where the Shiv Sena chief alleged that Pawar sheds "crocodile tears."

"A few days ago I saw in the news Ajit Pawar was crying, that was the first time when I saw crocodile tears. They indulged in vendetta politics during their rule, but I assure we will never engage in that," Thackeray had said.

Pawar, the nephew of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, tendered his resignation as a member of the Maharashtra Assembly last month after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a case of money laundering case against him.

At a public event today Pawar said, "Uddhav Thackeray should better focus upon how their alliance can survive instead of focusing on my tears. The whole of Maharashtra knows that I am not among those who run away or cry."

"The situation at that time was different it was not supposed to happen that time but I could not control myself and hence it happened. That was an emotional moment and it has no connection with anything else," he said describing why he got emotional in a press conference.

Speaking on former union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's comments that both NCP and Congress should merge Pawar said, "Shinde is the senior leader of Congress he expressed his personal opinion. He said what he felt should happen. It is the right of senior leaders to say as to how and what they feel should happen."

"Today we have only one target for now that how we can win 175 seats out of 288 in the coming assembly elections hence by making any statement regarding this I do not want to make any confusion between Congress and NCP workers of Maharashtra," he said.

Maharashtra will go to polls on October 21 while the results will be declared by October 24.