Pawar Vs Pawar: Rival NCP Factions Carry Out Spate Of Sackings Amid Tussle Over Control Of Party

Maharashtra Political Crisis: Sharad Pawar vowed to build the NCP from scratch as he sacked MPs Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare from the party. The Ajit Pawar faction too made its own appointments.

An NCP worker removes a photo of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar from the party office as part of a protest in Solapur

Source : PTI

The infighting in the Nationalist Congress Party (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.

Maharashtra Political Crisis: Latest Developments

• 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.
• Anil Bhaidas Patil, who took oath as a minister on Sunday, will continue to be the NCP's whip in the Maharashtra Assembly.
• Ajit Pawar said he enjoyed the support of "maximum" NCP legislators. "A majority of NCP MLAs are with us, that is why I became deputy CM," Ajit said at the press meet.
• However, when asked who was the NCP's national president, Ajit Pawar categorically said, "The party national president is Sharad Pawar. Have you forgotten?"
• In other appointments announced bythe Ajit Pawar camp, Rupali Chakankar has been named chief of the NCP's state women's wing, MLC Amol Mitkari and Anand Paranjpe will be spokespersons, while Suraj Chavan has been made the party's youth wing president in Maharashtra.
• Earlier in the day, addressing a press conference in Maharashtra's Satara district, Sharad Pawar said he had launched a statewide tour to strengthen the NCP. Pawar, denying that Ajit Pawar's rebellion had his blessings, said there was a need to fight forces creating communal divide in Maharashtra and the country.
• Sharad Pawar also said the Congress, a constituent of the MVA, was justified in claiming the post of Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly.