‘Pawar-ful’ Revolt Grips NCP as Sharad, Ajit Move to Control Party; Praful Patel Sacked, New Appointments Announced | Top Updates

The power tussle within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) continued to rumble on Monday, with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar asserting that his faction holds the majority, following the sacking of senior leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare by his uncle and “guru” Sharad Pawar, and the NCP filing a petition seeking the disqualification of the 9 rebel leaders.

Here are the top updates in the Maharashtra Political crisis

• NCP National President Sharad Pawar told News18, “My interest is to reunite the party, and make it strong – it is my responsibility.” Speaking on the split in the party after Ajit and eight other MLAs took oath as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led government, Pawar said it is not important “how many are with you, important is the organisation”.
• Pawar had earlier in the day visited the memorial of his mentor and Maharashtra’s first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan in Karad a major show of strength. Pawar said his fight is against “communal forces. Such rebellions happen”. “We need to fight forces that create fear among peace-loving citizens. We need to protect democracy in the country,” he added.
• Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar met his counterpart Devendra Fadnavis to discuss allocation of cabinet portfolios and legal aspects pertaining to the new alliance. The meeting which took place over an hour was also attended by NCP leaders Sunil Tatkare, Praful Patel and Chhagan Bhujbal and held at ‘Meghdoot’ bungalow, the official residence of the BJP leader Fadnavis.
• NCP’s discipline committee moved a petition before Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar seeking disqualification of Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Dharmarao Atram, Anil Patil and Sanjay Bansode for “anti-party activities”.
• Sharad Pawar’s daughter and NCP leader Supriya Sule demanded immediate action against MPs Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel who “acted in direct contravention of the Party Constitution and Rules, amounting to desertion and disqualification from the party membership.” In a letter to Sharad Pawar, she had demanded “immediate action and file disqualification petitions under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India before the Competent Authority against Members of Parliament- Mr. Praful Patel and Mr. Sunil Tatkare for engaging in anti-party activities.”
• Minutes after Sule’s letter, Sharad Pawar also sacked party’s working president Praful Patel and Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare for “anti-party activities.”
• NCP supremo Sharad Pawar targeted Patel and said “All our MLAs and MPs (pointing at some of them flanking him) have done a lot of hard work to get elected. They go among people and work but Praful (Patel) is a fortunate colleague who by just filling out the form becomes an MP. These people (MLAs) do not have to go and cast their votes to elect him (Patel). He gets elected unopposed and no election-related expense is incurred.” Asked whether he was pained to see his key aides deserting him, Pawar replied in the negative. “Not at all. My experience tells me that whenever such a situation emerges, the final decision is taken by people and common voters in elections. I have faith in them,” he said.
• Praful Patel in a press conference said Ajit Pawar is NCP’s Legislative party leader and Sunil Tatkare will replace Jayant Patil as the party’s new state president while Anil Bhaidas Patil, who took oath as a minister on Sunday, will continue to be the party whip in the Assembly. Patel said the decision to back the Eknath Shinde-led government and the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a “collective” move by the NCP.
• Maharashtra deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar stated, “Those who are contemplating the disqualification of the 9 MLAs do not possess the authority to do so. It is our duty to ensure that no harm befalls either the 9 MLAs or the party.” Reiterating the strength of their position, he confidently declared, “The party symbol and name remain in our possession. We have the numbers and cannot be disqualified.”
• Ajit Pawar clarified, “Sharad Pawar holds the position of NCP national president” and called him “our guru”. However, “the party name and symbol belong to us,” he said. He further added, “We have made this decision in the best interest of Maharashtra.”
• Addressing the press amid concerns about Opposition setback following NCP’s Ajit Pawar-led rebellion in Maharashtra, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said, “Opposition is not falling apart, it is united and good. The next Opposition meeting will be held in Bengaluru on July 17-18 and we are planning for it.”
• Shiv Sena UBT leader Arvind Sawant told CNN-News18, “The fight will continue as an unconstitutional thing has happened. The Election Commission is serving the government and we should not ignore Prime Minister Modi’s statement on the NCP. BJP is known for doing all unconstitutional things and has taken a U-turn in the NCP case as earlier they were totally against the party.” He also claimed that Ajit Pawar was “under the scanner of central agencies” and that he was “pressured to take this step.”
• Amol Mitkari, spokesperson for the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) said the alliance with the Shiv Sena and BJP government in Maharashtra occurred with the support of 40 NCP MLAs. “While Sharad Pawar is a senior leader of the NCP, we cannot overlook the contributions of Ajit Pawar either, who has dedicated 40 years of his life to the NCP,” he said.
• According to CNN-News18 reports, portfolio distribution in the Maharashtra cabinet will be held by tomorrow morning. Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde said state cabinet expansion will take place soon “Ajit Pawar has said that he is supporting the agenda of development…State cabinet expansion will happen soon”, he said.
• NCP Chief Sharad Pawar in a tweet announced party leader Sonia Doohan as in-charge of NCP’s Delhi office. “It is hereby notified all public and office bearers of NCP that from today Ms. Sonia Doohan will be charge of Nationalist congress party, New Delhi central office,” he said. Doohan, who is NCP students’ wing national president, was earlier seen removing the picture of Praful Patel from party office following his decision to support Ajit Pawar’s mutiny.
• NCP MLAs who took oath as ministers in Shinde government have no official support of the party, said NCP Spokesperson Mahesh Tapase. “The oath-taking ceremony in Maharashtra was part of Operation Lotus and it has no official support of NCP. Those who took oath, it is their personal decision and not that of the NCP,” he said.
• In an exclusive interview with CNN-News18, NCP MP Amol Kohle expressed his surprise as he shared, “I went to meet Ajit Pawar, completely unaware that an oath ceremony was going to take place. I was shocked by the sudden turn of events.” He further revealed, “I called my office to prepare my resignation because this is not the reason for which I entered into politics.”
• NCP factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar will convene meetings at different locations in Mumbai on Wednesday. Sharad Pawar’s faction will gather at 1pm in Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in south Mumbai, while the Ajit Pawar faction, aligned with the ruling Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis dispensation, will meet at 11am in Bhujbal Knowledge City in suburban Bandra, according to party functionaries.