NEW DELHI: Congress is livid at Sharad Pawar for not shutting out Ajit Pawar after his aborted defection to the BJP camp in 2019, blaming the NCP supremo for the present setback to MVA just when the allies thought they would overwhelm BJP in Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats.

Top party sources said Pawar Sr could have cut out his nephew when he was at his most vulnerable, but Pawar took him back with his standing intact."Ajit always looked like playing tango with BJP.

This was waiting to happen at some moment.

Why did Pawar not shut him out completely in advance?" a key Congress manager asked.

The exasperation in Congress reflected the disappointment that NCP split constitutes for the alliance.NCP split deflates Congress optimism over prospects in MahaCongress is livid at Sharad Pawar for not shutting out Ajit Pawar after his short-lived and aborted defection to the BJP camp in Maharashtra in 2019.

The opposition has been harbouring high hopes from Maharashtra where, on the evidence of political battles and byelections, they expected to sweep the state and bring down BJP's national tally substantially.

Maharashtra and Bihar, which BJP swept in the 2019 polls, have been the focus area of a galvanised and uniting opposition.

The concern is that Maharashtra may have broken from that axis of hope, with NCP cleaving into two.However, the development has not deflated the optimism in Congress completely, given that ally Shiv Sena too broke up last year in favour of BJP, but has since held its own.

A senior Congress manager said while the majority of elected members at all levels left with chief minister Eknath Shinde, the cadres have stayed with the Uddhav Thackeray-led rump - a reason why BJP has not been able to muster the courage to hold elections to the coveted BMC even a year after coming to power, while it is also going slow on byelections to some other seats.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi called up Pawar to get a grip on the tumultuous events, the party has confidence that the veteran commands the loyalty of his workers, and can turn it around.

There are examples like the Satara Lok Sabha contest in 2019, and the assembly polls where BJP's hopes of reaching close to the majority alone were belied big time.

They are also counting on the sympathy factor for the Maratha strongman in the evening of his career.

"We have a regular feedback mechanism.

It was expected.

But we are confident that it will not be a big loss for the alliance," a party strategist claimed.Mamata dials NCP chief, JD(U) says oppn unity intactWest Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee was among the prominent faces of the anti-BJP bloc to call Sharad Pawar on Sunday and reassure him that his NCP splitting in Maharashtra would have no bearing on the opposition’s unity bid for 2024.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) blamed BJP’s alleged machinations for the Ajit Pawar-led faction merging with NDA, but said the move wouldn’t dent the opposition’s resolve to fight BJP as a united force in next year’s LS polls.03:58Explained: First Shiv Sena, now NCP, here is how BJP turned the tables on MVA in MaharashtraWatchNot 'googly', it is a robbery, Sharad Pawar on Ajit Pawar joining NDA