Fight won't end till I give father party he founded, symbol: Supriya Sule

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Supriya Sule on Friday said her fight will not end till she gives her father Sharad Pawar the party he founded and its original symbol.

The Sharad Pawar-founded NCP split in July last year after Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government. The ECI later gave the party name and 'clock' symbol to the faction led by the deputy chief minister, while Sharad Pawar's faction was christened NCP (SP) with 'man blowing tutari' as its symbol.

Addressing a Maha Vikas Aghadi rally in Anushakti Nagar in north east Mumbai, Sule said, "My fight will not end until I give Pawar saheb the party he created and his symbol."

She also took a swipe at the ruling alliance by saying "what happened to those who had an allergy to Nawab Malik". Malik is the sitting MLA from Anushakti Nagar and has thrown his weight with the faction led by Ajit Pawar.

Malik was arrested in February 2022 by the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly usurping a property in Kurla here with the help of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim's sister. Malik was released on bail last year.

Expressing disappointment with Malik moving towards the ruling alliance, Sule said, "I feel sorry when I see Nawab bhai with the BJP. The same party that put you in jail, you have joined hands with them?"

The Ajit Pawar-led NCP, BJP and the Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena comprise the ruling alliance in Maharashtra.

Sule stressed the (undivided) NCP gave Malik full support when he was jailed, during his court hearings and when he was hospitalised for various ailments.

"I have seen the tears of Nawab bhai's wife and his children. Nawab bhai may have forgotten the injustice meted out to him by the BJP but I have not," the Baramati Lok Sabha MP asserted.

Sule said allegations of irregularities to the tune of Rs 100 crore were made against former state home minister and party colleague Anil Deshmukh but the FIR mentioned only Rs 1 crore.

He, however, spent seven months in jail, leaving his kin in immense distress, Sule told the gathering.

Sule also expressed gratitude to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav for supporting her when the party split and the symbol was given to the breakaway faction.

Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Chandrakant Handore also addressed the gathering.