NCP Appoints Jitendra Awhad As Chief Whip In Maharashtra Assembly After Ajit Pawar’s Sunday Show

NCP sent Jitendra Awhad’s name as the party's chief whip after Ajit Pawar took oath as Deputy Chief Minister in Eknath Shinde's cabinet.

NCP leader Jayant Patil

Nationalist Congress Party on Sunday appointed Jitendra Awhad as the chief whip to the Assembly speaker after party leader Ajit Pawar sided with Eknath Shinde led Maharashtra government while still being in the party. “We have sent Jitendra Awhad's name as chief whip, and have sent a letter on behalf of the NCP party to the speaker of the assembly,” said NCP leader Jayant Patil. Along with Pawar, eight other NCP MLAs including Chhagan Bhujbal, Hasan Mushrif and others also joined the Shinde government as cabinet ministers.

Hours after taking oath as the Maharashtra Deputy CM, Ajit Pawar on Sunday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, saying "Country is moving ahead under PM Modi. He is quite popular and receives support even abroad."

Addressing a press conference, Pawar said that more ministers will be inducted in the next expansion. "We took a decision to come with the Shinde-Fadanvis govt with almost all MLAs of NCP. We took oath and a few other ministers will be added in the next expansion."

"All the MLAs, MPs, and workers of the party (NCP) are with us that's why I took oath as Deputy CM," he added.

Following the oath taking ceremony Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday targeted the Opposition parties saying their attempts to seek vote against Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been jeopardised “This is not a new govt, Shiv Sena and BJP govt were functioning under PM Modi's leadership. Development work was going on and Ajit Pawar who believed in the development work, supported and joined the govt,” he said. 

“I welcome him and his MLAs wholeheartedly,” Shinde said after the oath taking ceremony, who claimed that Pawar was being sidelined in the NCP. 

“He has a lot of MPs and MLAs which will definitely help in the development of Maharashtra. This double-engine govt now will run at the speed of a bullet train,” he added. 

“MVA govt is broken... Some people were talking about googly and clean bowled, but everyone saw today who was clean bowled...it's a hit wicket,” he added.