Yet to ascertain whether NCP is in govt or Opposition: Maharashtra Assembly Speaker

Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has said he is yet to ascertain whether the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a part of the Shiv Sena-BJP government or is still in the Opposition.

Narwekar’s statement came in the midst of the vertical split in the party after its senior leader Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde government as the Deputy Chief Minister along with eight other NCP MLAs who were sworn in as ministers. While the party’s faction led by its president Sharad Pawar has filed a disqualification petition against the nine MLAs with Speaker Narwekar for joining the Shinde government without his knowledge, Ajit Pawar claims there is no split in the party and that he has the backing of a maximum number of NCP MLAs on his decision.

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Speaking to reporters on Monday, Narwekar said his office has not yet received any petition mentioning about a split in the party. “I am yet to ascertain whether the NCP is a part of the state government or is still in the Opposition bloc. I will go through the details available before me and take a call on it,” he said.

Ajit Pawar was the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly before he took oath as Deputy Chief Minister.

Narwekar said, “I have received only one petition from NCP MLA Jayant Patil seeking disqualification of nine MLAs (Ajit Pawar and eight others who took oath as ministers along with him). There is no written communication from any other leader of the NCP.”

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“I have not received any petition mentioning about a split in the party,” he stated. Asked how many NCP MLAs have expressed their support to Ajit Pawar, Narwekar said, “I do not have any information on it because there is no written communication from his side.”

The party-wise strength in the Legislative Assembly still remains unchanged. The Sharad Pawar-led party has 53 MLAs in the 288-member Assembly. The Speaker said his office has received several representations from legislators related to recent developments in the NCP. “We will look into them, study their legality and then only take a decision,” he said without elaborating on the nature of representations received by his office.

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(With inputs from agencies)