'No talk at all...': NCP's Praful Patel denies reports that he may join Modi Cabinet

Hours after Ajit Pawar ditched the MVA and joined the NDA in Maharashtra, many speculated that senior NCP leader Praful Patel may get a berth in the Modi Cabinet in Delhi. He, however, denied this, saying there were no such talks and that no such demand was made by his party from the NDA. "No talk at all about my inclusion (in the Cabinet). This is pure speculation. We have not made any demand," Praful Patel said in an exclusive conversation with India Today. 

Ajit Pawar's move to join the NDA comes just a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to chair a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers. The buzz is that PM Modi can go for a Cabinet reshuffle, which will be the second and last before the next Lok Sabha election in 2024.   

Praful Patel also rejected the claims that he was under pressure due to multiple probes by the ED. He said there was no case against him. Praful Patel accompanied Ajit Pawar to the Raj Bhawan, whether the latter took oath as deputy CM of Maharashtra. Patel was also seen with Ajit Patel and Chhagan Bhujbal during the press conference after the NCP joined the BJP. 

While Ajit Pawar's move to join the NDA was expected, Praful Patel backing him surprised many because he was recently appointed by Sharad Pawar as the working president of the NCP. Patel is currently a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. He has also served as Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation from May 2004 to January 2011, and Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises from January 2011 to May 2014. He is also a Member of the FIFA Finance Committee since 2017. 

Praful Patel today backed Ajit Pawar in joining the Maharashtra government and said the party together took this decision. Ajit Pawar, who was also the deputy CM in the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, enjoys the image of a grassroot leader and an able administrator. 

The 63-year-old leader recently appealed to the party leadership to relieve him of the responsibility of the leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly and assign him a role in the party organisation. In the 2019 assembly elections, Ajit Pawar was re-elected from Baramati Assembly constituency with the highest margin of more than 1.65 lakh votes in the state. 

(With inputs from PTI)