Maharashtra NCP crisis: 35 MLAs attend Ajit Pawar's meeting

As many as 35 of 53 NCP MLAs were present at the party meeting convened by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in Mumbai on Wednesday (July 5).

The number will increase further, a PTI report said citing sources.

Five of eight NCP MLCs are also attending the meeting taking place in suburban Bandra, they said.

Also read: Can Sharad Pawar, master of political manoeuvring, save NCP from brink of collapse?

According to former principal secretary of Maharashtra Legislature Anant Kalse, Ajit Pawar camp needs the support of at least 36 MLAs to avoid disqualification.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s supporters thronged his residence in south Mumbai on Wednesday, hours ahead of the show of strength meetings convened by him and Ajit Pawar who parted ways to become the deputy chief minister.

The Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are holding their meetings in Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in south Mumbai and in Bhujbal Knowledge City in suburban Bandra, respectively.

Also read: NCP break-up: Is the real Pawar twist yet to happen?

Outside Silver Oak, the senior Pawar’s residence in south Mumbai, a party worker was seen carrying a banner which read: “83-year-old warrior waging a fight alone”.

Supporters of Ajit Pawar also gathered outside his Devgiri official residence, also in south Mumbai, before he left to attend the meeting at Bandra. “We are hard core Dada (as Ajit Pawar is called) supporters. We have come all the way from Baramati,” an NCP worker told the media outside Devgiri.

MLA Anil Patil claimed that as many as 40 of the 53 party MLAs are with Ajit Pawar.

These are the first meetings involving party functionaries for both factions since Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs, including Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil and Hasan Mushrif, joined the Eknath Shinde government on Sunday. Both factions have claimed that they have most MLAs with them.

Earlier, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP issued a whip to all MLAs asking them to remain present for the meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Ahead of the crucial meeting, NCP’s working president, Supriya Sule also urged party MLAs and workers to attend it in large numbers.

“It is a humble request that you all attend this meeting in large numbers. In the current situation, the 83-year-old young warrior i.e. our respected Pawar Saheb is going to guide all office bearers and workers tomorrow to give further direction to our Nationalist Congress Party,” she said in a tweet in Marathi.

The one-line whip issued on Tuesday (July 4) by Jitendra Awhad, chief whip of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, said the meeting had been called by Sharad Pawar at 1 pm at Y B Chavan Centre on July 5, and the presence of all MLAs was mandatory.

Pawar senior named Awhad as chief whip after nephew Ajit Pawar joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government with eight other MLAs on Sunday (July 2).

The Ajit Pawar camp also issued a notice on Tuesday (July 4) to all current and former legislators, parliamentarians, office-bearers, working committee members, and others, asking them to attend a meeting convened by Sunil Tatkare, the Maharashtra unit president appointed by the group, at the MET institute’s premises in suburban Bandra on Wednesday (July 5).

The notice was issued by Shivajirao Garje, who has been expelled by the Sharad Pawar-led party for “indulging in anti-party activities”.

The Ajit Pawar camp has urged Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to disqualify state NCP president Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad as MLAs.

NCP working president Praful Patel, who was sacked from the party by Sharad Pawar, on Monday (July 3) appointed Ajit Pawar as leader of the NCP legislature party, while Anil Bhaidas Patil, who took oath as a minister on Sunday (July 2), will continue to be the party whip in the Assembly.

The NCP led by Sharad Pawar has moved a petition before Speaker Narwekar, seeking disqualification of Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs who have taken oath as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led government.

The NCP has 53 MLAs in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

(With inputs from agencies)