Ajit Pawar To Attend BJP-Led NDA Meeting In Delhi On Tuesday, Says Praful Patel

Praful Patel's announcement came minutes after he and Ajit Pawar met NCP chief Sharad Pawar for the second time in 24 hours.

Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar with party leader Praful Patel ( Image Source :PTI )

NCP leader Praful Patel said on Monday that Ajit Pawar would attend the NDA meeting in Delhi, ANI reported. Patel's announcement came minutes after he and Ajit Pawar met NCP chief Sharad Pawar along with several MLAs of the Ajit Pawar faction for the second time in 24 hours.

"Ajit Pawar and I will be present at the NDA meeting in Delhi tomorrow," ANI quoted Patel as saying.

Speaking to reporters on their meeting with the senior Pawar, Praful Patel said, "Today, Ajit Pawar, Sunil Tatkare and I met Sharad Pawar at YB Chavan Centre. We again requested him to keep NCP united, and he listened to us but did not say anything on it."

READ | Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar Meets Uncle Sharad Pawar For Second Time In 24 Hours

On Sunday too, Ajit Pawar and some ministers from his faction met Sharad Pawar -- the first meeting between uncle and nephew since Ajit revolted and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Praful Patel said Sharad Pawar was like an "idol to us" and they met him to seek his blessings.

"We requested him (Sharad Pawar) to keep the NCP united. We also asked him to think about our request over the next some days and guide us. He listened to us quietly but said nothing," Patel had said.

Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar confirmed his participation in the Opposition meeting in Bengaluru on July 18. He skipped the first day of the meeting on Monday.

On Monday, the Maharashtra Assembly's monsoon session kicked off, with 27 out of the 53 MLAs of the NCP absent.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Cabinet ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, Dhananjay Munde, Anil Patil and Dharmarao Atram sat with the ruling side, PTI reported.

The other MLAs who extended their support to Ajit Pawar and were present in the House were Babanrao Shinde, Indranil Naik, Prakash Solankhe, Kiran Lahamate, Sunil Shelke and Saroj Ahire.

From the Sharad Pawar faction, Jayant Patil, legislators Balasaheb Patil, Prajakt Tanpure, Sunil Bhusara, Mansing Pawar, Suman Patil, Rohit Pawar, Rajesh Tope, Ashok Pawar and Anil Deshmukh sat on the Opposition side.