As the struggle for control of the party heats up, the opposing factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by founder Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar, are holding separate meetings today in Mumbai.
Ajit Pawar and his supporters, notably MP Praful Patel, maintain that their group is the official party and not some other sectarian group. The new Ajit Pawar office will be located close to the state secretariat. Today marks the official opening of the new “Rashtrawadi Bhavan.”
A day after Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs shifted to the Shiv Sena-BJP administration, a full-fledged conflict broke out in the NCP Friday evening as different factions went on a firing spree.
Soon after Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare were expelled from the NCP by Sharad Pawar “for engaging in anti-party activities,” the Ajit Pawar camp retaliated by claiming Sunil Tatkare had taken Jayant Patil’s place as the NCP’s state president in Maharashtra.
Along with Praful Patel and MP Sunil Tatkare, the NCP also expelled three other party officials for attending the oath ceremony at Raj Bhavan on Sunday: Narendra Rathod, Vijay Deshmukh, and Shivajirao Garje. The party’s “Group Leader” has been named as Ajit Pawar, according to Praful Patel’s subsequent announcement.
The Sharad Pawar side has petitioned Rahul Narvekar, Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly, to oust Ajit Pawar and his eight supporters from office. 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.
The disqualification notifications, according to Ajit Pawar, “have no value.” “Nine of us are the targets of notices, but I don’t think the notice means anything… We’ve got the party here,” he remarked. In retaliation, the rebels also petitioned for Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad’s disqualification.
Today, key discussions about the future course of action were held by Congress leaders. The party seeks the post of leader of opposition as it has the maximum number of MLAs among the Opposition parties in the Maharashtra Assembly – a demand that has NCP founder Sharad Pawar’s backing. “The party which has the maximum number of MLAs can demand the post, it’s a valid demand,” said Pawar senior. On Sunday, Jitendra Awhad was made the Leader of Opposition replacing Ajit Pawar.
Today’s gathering of Team Uddhav Thackeray will also cover current political developments in the state. According to an editorial in Shiv Sena (UBT) newspaper “Saamana,” Ajit Pawar will succeed Eknath Shinde as chief minister.
Sharad Pawar pledged to rebuild the party while paying a visit to Yashwantrao Chavan’s memorial in Satara district yesterday. Chavan was Sharad Pawar’s mentor and the first chief minister of Maharashtra. The BJP, according to him, is attempting to “destroy” all opposition parties. “Today I begin my struggle against communal forces. Such uprisings do occur. I’ll revive the party, Mr. Pawar declared.
Asked whether Ajit Pawar’s rebellion on Sunday had his blessings, the NCP chief said, “It is a mean thing to say. Only those with a mean and low intellect can say this.”
