After breaking ranks and becoming the Deputy Chief Minister in the Eknath Shinde administration yesterday, Ajit Pawar addressed a number of meetings today, throwing the party that his uncle Sharad Pawar established 24 years ago into disarray.
After meeting this morning with the renegade NCP MLAs, Ajit Pawar met Devendra Fadnavis at his home to apparently discuss the power-sharing formula. “A discussion was held regarding allocation of ministries to Ajit Pawar and the eight NCP MLAs who have switched to the Shinde-led government,” sources said.
A day after his nephew’s significant change of heart, Sharad Pawar paid a visit to the memorial in Satara district to his mentor and Maharashtra’s first chief minister, Yashwantrao Chavan. He vowed to revive the NCP and claimed that the BJP was attempting to “destroy” all opposition parties. “My fight against communal forces begins today. Such rebellions happen. I will rebuild the party,” Mr Pawar said.
Later, the veteran politician spoke to the media. Sharad Pawar claimed that he has begun a statewide campaign to support the NCP and inspire party members. We’ll expose those who attempted to undermine NCP where they belong, he vowed.
The NCP has petitioned Rahul Narvekar, Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly, to oust Ajit Pawar and his eight supporters from office. “The very act of these MLAs going to the Governor of Maharashtra and taking oath as Deputy Chief Minister and ministers in the government led by Eknath Shinde – which is strongly opposed by the NCP – amounts to voluntarily giving up membership of the NCP political party,” the 22-page petition for disqualification stated.
Sharad Pawar, who created the NCP in 1999, continues to serve as the party’s leader, and the party has also written to the Election Commission of India (EC) to confirm this. Additionally, they requested the election authority to consult with them before acting on any requests made by the Ajit Pawar camp.
According to Ajit Pawar, the majority of the party is behind him. In a same manner to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde following the Shiv Sena split, he also staked claim to the party’s name and emblem. The next step for Ajit Pawar should be to convince the Election Commission that he is the founding leader of the NCP. According to BJP sources, Ajit Pawar asserts to have the support of more than 40 of the NCP’s 53 state legislature members.
Sharad Pawar had stated yesterday that he would create new leadership in the party in response to his nephew’s significant change of heart. But he insisted that “there is no problem in the family.” “The family is not having any issues. In our family, politics is never brought up. Everybody makes their own decisions, according to Mr. Pawar.
The working president of the party and Sharad Pawar’s daughter, Supriya Sule, stated that the unity of the opposition will not be impacted by developments within the party. She added that although Ajit Pawar may hold differing opinions, she will “always love him as a sister.” “I can never have a fight with my brother,” Ms Sule told media.
As they followed the development of the crisis in Maharashtra, the Congress declared their support for Sharad Pawar. One of the nation’s most shrewd politicians, Sharad Pawar, will fight back, at least in the people’s court, according to senior Congressman Prithviraj Chavan.
After Ajit Pawar joined the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, a position he would share with the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, the NCP saw a vertical split yesterday. Eight more NCP legislators, including ardent Sharad Pawar supporters Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil, were appointed to the cabinet.
