Gautam Adani hosted BJP-NCP talks, did not participate in it: Sharad Pawar

NCP(SP) president Sharad Pawar has confirmed that BJP-NCP talks were held at Gautam Adani's Delhi residence. (File Photo: PTI)

Amid the ongoing controversy over Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar claimed that industrialist Gautam Adani was part of a discussion between leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the undivided Nationalist Congress Party in 2019, NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Thursday confirmed that the meeting was held at Adani's residence. However, Adani did not participate in the political discussions, Sharad Pawar said in an interview to The News Laundry and The News Minute.

Pawar Sr. told the news portal that the meeting took place at Adani's residence in Delhi. Besides him, those present at the meeting included Gautam Adani, Amit Shah and Ajit Pawar. The meeting took place ahead of Ajit Pawar's dramatic early morning swearing-in that saw the BJP and NCP form a government that lasted only 80 hours.

As per the report, Pawar was assured by his NCP colleagues, many of whom were facing the wrath of central agencies, that their cases would be withdrawn if they joined hands with the BJP.

Pawar told the portal that he wasn't convinced the BJP would keep its word and was hesitant to agree to the alliance. It was then that his colleagues suggested that he "hear it from the horse's mouth". Pawar was responding to a question on why he was present at the meeting at Adani's residence with Amit Shah.

Sharad Pawar, however, reiterated that Adani “was not participating in the political discussion” but hosted the dinner.

Earlier this week, Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit told the same news portal that Adani was part of a meeting between leaders of the NCP and BJP to explore the possibility of forming a government in 2019.

"Everybody knows where the meeting took place… Everyone was there. Let me tell you again. Amit Shah was there, Gautam Adani was there, Praful Patel was there, Devendra Fadnavis was there, Ajit Pawar was there, Pawar Saheb (Sharad Pawar) was there," Ajit Pawar told The News Minute in an interview.

Notably, in an interview to a Marathi news channel on Wednesday, Sharad Pawar had admitted to meeting Adani and Amit Shah but denied any discussion on government formation.

“Had such a thing happened, you would have seen the BJP-NCP government being formed,” he said, adding that there was no truth in the claims by Ajit Pawar.