‘Should Be Ready For Midterm Polls': Sharad Pawar Predicts Eknath Shinde-Led Govt’s Fall

Sharad Pawar further said that failure of this experiment will lead to many rebel MLAs returning to their original party

NCP Chief Sharad Pawar

New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar targeted the new Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his government on Sunday saying that the Shinde-led government may fall in six months, reported news agency PTI. His statements came during an address to the party legislators and other NCP leaders in Mumbai. 

"The newly-formed government in Maharashtra may fall in the next six months, hence all should be ready for mid-term polls," an NCP leader, who attended the meeting, quoted Mr Pawar as saying, as per the PTI report.

"Pawar said that many rebel legislators who are supporting Shinde are not happy with the current arrangement. Once the ministerial portfolios are distributed, their unrest will come out, which will ultimately result in the collapse of the government," he said.

Pawar further said that failure of this experiment will lead to many rebel MLAs returning to their original party adding that NCP legislators should spend more time in their constituencies if merely six months are left. 

Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the 20th Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Thursday after he rebelled against his party Shiv Sena along with 39 other party legislators, pushing the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to minority. Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the deputy chief minister of the state 

The Shinde-led government has to now prove its majority in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for which a floor test is scheduled to take place today in the House.