Ajit Pawar-Led Faction Has No Right To Remove Me As Maharashtra NCP Chief: Jayant Patil

Jayant Patil has said the group led by Ajit Pawar has no right to remove him from the post. He also claimed that all MLAs of NCP are with the party chief Sharad Pawar.

Jayant Patil said the group led by Ajit Pawar has no right to remove him from the post. He also claimed that all MLAs of NCP (total 53) are with the party chief Sharad Pawar.

Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil on Tuesday said the group led by Ajit Pawar has no right to remove him from the post. He also claimed that all MLAs of NCP (total 53) are with the party chief Sharad Pawar, as reported by the news agency PTI. This comes after the Ajit Pawar camp appointed Sunil Tatkare as the Maharashtra NCP president in place of Jayant Patil. It also asked the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker to disqualify Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad from membership of the House.

"The faction led by (Ajit Pawar) is a 'Notionalist' Party. They have no right to remove me from the post (of NCP state unit president)," Jayant Patil told reporters, as reported by PTI. He also said he had taken action against the nine MLAs who have joined the government.

Earlier on Monday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar removed the party's working president Praful Patel and general secretary Tatkare for engaging in "anti-party” activities. The action was taken against Patel and Tatkare after they took part in the swearing-in ceremony of Ajit Pawar who took oath as deputy chief minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP cabinet on Sunday, while eight NCP MLAs joined as ministers.

The Sharad Pawar-led NCP had moved a petition before Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar seeking the disqualification of Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs. "All MLAs are with us and you will know tomorrow," Jayant Patil claimed, as quoted by PTI. The Ajit Pawar camp in a letter submitted to Raj Bhavan had claimed that they have the support of 40 MLAs of NCP.

The infighting in the NCP intensified on Monday as rival factions led by Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit announced a slew of sackings. Smarting from the surprise revolt by Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar said he would build the NCP from scratch as the party filed a disqualification petition against the nine MLAs who joined the Maharashtra government on Sunday.

On the other hand, Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar said the party and MLAs were with him and the notice for disqualification against him and the eight newly sworn-in ministers was meaningless. "Law will decide if we have rebelled. Only the Election Commission of India will decide to whom the party belongs," the junior Pawar said at a press conference.

After Sunday's drama, NCP president Sharad Pawar led the charge on Monday, sacking party's working president Praful Patel and general secretary and treasurer Sunil Tatkare after both sided with Ajit Pawar in his revolt. The NCP supremo's action came soon after NCP working president Supriya Sule, in a letter, demanded disciplinary action against Patel, known to be a close aide of Sharad Pawar, and Tatkare, whose daughter Aditi took oath as minister on Sunday.

In a tit-for-tat move, the Ajit Pawar faction appointed Tatkare as the Maharashtra NCP president in place of Jayant Patil. It also asked the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker to disqualify Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad from membership of the House. Addressing a press conference, Praful Patel announced Ajit Pawar as the leader of the NCP legislature party.

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