Amid sackings and suspensions of each other’s leaders and office-bearers in a bid to claim control of the 25-year-old Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the two factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar would face the first test on Wednesday when parallel meetings are held in Mumbai.
While the Sharad Pawar-Supriya Sule-led group has called the meeting at 1300 hrs at the Y B Chavan Auditorium at Nariman Point, the Ajit Pawar-Praful Patel-led faction would meet at MET Institute of Management at Bandra at 1100 hrs.
During these two parallel meetings, the strength of MLAs and rank and files would be open before the public.
A day after Ajit Pawar rebelled and moved to the BJP-led ruling camp to become the second Deputy Chief Minister alongside BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis in the Eknath Shinde-led government, things got bitter and on Monday landed in the office of Speaker and would reach the Election Commission as well as courts.
Speaker Rahul Narwekar made it clear that he would not rush and would take appropriate decisions on the sets of communications that he has received or would receive.
The junior Pawar once again reiterated the claim over the party and the symbol.
The NCP has 53 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and Ajit Pawar needs the support of at least 36 legislators to not attract the provisions of anti-defection law.
Based on the communication from his daughter and Working President Supriya Sule, Pawar ordered the removal of the names of Patel and Sunil Tatkare, the Working President and Treasurer, respectively, from the Register of Members of NCP for anti-party activities.
In the letter, Sule said: “The fact these defections were done in such a secretive manner, without the knowledge or consent of the Party President, amounts to desertion of the party which in turn invites disqualification.”
“Your actions of supporting Ajit Pawar and 8 other MLAs, who have sworn oath as ministers in violation of the party's direction and mandate, ex-facie amount to anti-party activities and that you deemed to have voluntarily left the membership of NCP,” Pawar in a letter to Patel and Tatkare.
In fact, Patel has played a key role in New Delhi securing a deal for Ajit Pawar.
In an emotional appeal, Patel said - “We request Sharad Pawar saheb with folded hands to give us his blessings as he is our Guru.”
When asked who will be the National President of the party now, he said, "Have you forgotten that Sharad Pawar is the party's National President?"
Patel, however, asserted his role as NCP Working President and with immediate effect relieved Jayant Patil as Maharashtra unit President and appointed Tatkare in his place.
“All decisions in Maharashtra will be fully taken by Tatkare and as Working President I appointed him as the state unit chief,” Patel said.
Ajit Pawar, who was appointed the NCP Legislature Party leader, wrote to the Speaker to disqualify Patil and Dr Jitendra Ahwad, who was appointed NCP’s Chief Whip and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
Patel also said that Anil Patil will continue to be the Chief Whip.
Patil wrote to the Speaker to disqualify Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse-Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Dharmaraobaba Atram, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode and Anil Patil. “Only nine MLAs have switched over, rest all are with us,” said Patil, adding that several of them have called him and Pawar to tell that they have been misled to come to Mumbai and were asked to go to Raj Bhavan.
The Sharad Pawar-led group also sacked Shivajirao Garje, Vijay Deshmukh, the Akola City District President of the party, and Narendra Rane, among others.
However, both sides have reached out to each other's MLAs.