The turf war in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) turned murkier on Sunday with party patriarch Sharad Pawar trying to isolate his nephew and deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar, within the party.
Top leaders from the NCP visited Ajit Pawar on Sunday and the party also submitted a letter to governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari informing him that Ajit had been removed as the legislature party chief. A copy of the letter was filed in the Supreme Court as well. “We have submitted a letter to the Governor’s office informing him that the NCP has elected me as the leader of the legislative party,” said party’s Jayant Patil.
Senior leaders said Sharad Pawar tried to convince Ajit to return to the party but was unsuccessful. Jayant Patil and Dilip Walse-Patil met Ajit on Sunday. “All NCP MLAs have come back. We don’t want Ajit Pawar to be left alone, which is why I have come to meet him,” said Jayant Patil outside Ajit’s residence near Churchgate in south Mumbai.
However, Ajit refused to budge, and in a series of tweets, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he would always be with the NCP. “Our BJP-NCP alliance shall provide a stable Government in Maharashtra for the next five years which will work sincerely for the welfare of the State and its people,” he tweeted. In response, the NCP chief ruled out an alliance with BJP and said Ajit was misleading others. “Shri Ajit Pawar’s statement is false and misleading in order to create confusion and false perception among the people,” Pawar said in a tweet.
Ajit stunned the party early on Sunday when he was sworn-in as deputy to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, pledging support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) even as the NCP formally was putting finishing touches to an alliance with the Congress and Shiv Sena. Since then, it has been unclear exactly how many MLAs are backing Ajit Pawar.
On Sunday, party spokesperson Nawab Malik claimed that 49 MLAs are with Sharad Pawar, and only five are supporting the BJP-led government. Of the five, two missing MLAs – Daulat Daroda and Babasaheb Patil –released separate videos on Sunday declaring support to the NCP, but didn’t specify whether they were supporting Sharad Pawar.
Daroda, in his video clip, said: “I am safe and secure. I was elected as a NCP MLA and hence will follow the decision taken by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar and do not believe in rumors.” Balasaheb Patil, too, said, “I have contested assembly polls as an NCP member. I am still a follower of Pawar saheb and will remain so… Ajit Pawar is also with us. Do not believe in rumors.”
Later in the day, party leaders confirmed that at least seven NCP legislators, excluding Ajit Pawar — Daulat Daroda (Shahapur), Narhari Zirwal (Dindori), Anil Patil (Amalner), Babasaheb Patil (Ahmedpur), Dharmraobaba Atram (Aheri), Nitin Pawar (Kalwan) and Anna Bansode (Pimpri) – were incommunicado. It was not clear which faction they supported.
Political analyst Prakash Bal said Ajit was sending a message to Sharad Pawar that he was still the NCP’s legislative party leader. “In this scenario, the role of the speaker becomes crucial because tomorrow if he [Ajit Pawar] issues a whip to the NCP MLAs, which is likely to happen, to vote for the BJP, and if they do not obey his orders, the speaker may disqualify them,” Bal said.
A senior NCP leader said the party’s strategy was to defeat the BJP-led dispensation in the election of the assembly speaker. “This will prove the BJP did not have the numbers and the government will not last,” said the NCP functionary.
The NCP, Congress and Sena held separate meetings on Sunday with their legislators. All parties were careful in presenting a united face, with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray joining Sharad Pawar in addressing NCP legislators at a hotel in Mumbai.
“Pawar saheb said that we have adequate numbers and we will soon form a government. The only thing we need to do at this moment is to stay united,” said an NCP legislator present on condition of anonymity. Thackeray was present with his son Aaditya, the MLA from Worli, and other senior leaders. “Uddhavji said the alliance of the three parties will last long,” said another NCP
The BJP said those involved in mudslinging should come forward and prove they have the numbers. “We have form the government and we shall also prove our majority in the state assembly,” said Madhav Bhandari, state BJP spokesperson.
