Maharashtra needs 'dynamic governance', says NCP's Ajit Pawar

In an oblique reference to the alleged slow pace of Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's administration, NCP leader Ajit Pawar who kicked off his poll campaign today, said the state needs "dynamic governance".

Alluding to Prithviraj Chavan's much publicised retort to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) that he would not like to fast track files involving dubious transactions, Pawar said, "We need a government which is dynamic. It is said that speed can lead to accident, but if the driver is capable, there will be no problem".

Kicking off his election campaign after filing his nomination papers from Baramati, the former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister said that if the NCP came to power, it would ensure a "transparent" government free of corruption.

The former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister said that he "came clean", despite facing maximum allegations of corruption, which he claimed were all aimed at "defaming" him.

Urging people to vote for him, Ajit said, "You have known me since the days I used to wear half pants," adding that he was "committed" to solve the problems, including water problems, faced by the region. He appealed to NCP workers not to rebel against official candidates because the number of seats were limited and "everybody wants to become MLA".

Ajit Pawar also had a word of appreciation for his sister and NCP MP Supriya Sule who, he said, defended him when he faced embarrassing questions during television debates.

Meanwhile, two sitting MLAs from Pune, Girish Bapat (BJP) and Chandrakant Mokate (Shiv Sena) filed their nominations for Kasaba Peth and Kothrud Assembly seats respectively.