After he joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government as deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar on Sunday that all the MLAs were with him, including the senior members of the party and that they have not split the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Addressing a press conference after the ceremony, Pawar said that “We’ve spoken with higher ups….We have all the numbers, all MLAs are with me. We are here as a party. We have informed all seniors also. The majority is given importance in a democracy.” Follow Live Updates Here
Pawar highlighted that if the NCP can join hands with the BJP in Nagaland, why cannot this be done for the betterment of Maharashtra and its people.
Pawar also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the country is progressing under his leadership. “He is also popular in other countries. Everyone supports him and appreciates his leadership,” he said.
Pawar added that they will fight the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections with the saffron party but in the name of NCP only.
“..Most of our MLAs are satisfied with this. We have supported this govt with NCP Party. We will contest all elections in the name of NCP only..” he said.
“Several people will criticise now a bit. We don’t give value to that and we will keep working for the progress of Maharashtra and that is why we have taken this decision,” Pawar added.
Not splitting NCP, says Chhagan Bhujabal
Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujabal, who also addressed the presser, said, “We have joined the government as its third party. Few people are saying that we have split the party but that is not correct. We have come here as NCP. We have also criticised Modi govt on many occasions but it is true that the country is safe in his hands.”
How has Sharad Pawar reacted?
Reacting to the development, NCP chief Sharad Pawar addressed the media and said he did not receive a “single call” for his nephew Ajit regarding any of this and that party MLAs and senior leaders will together decide any action against the rebel leader.
“It is the right of the speaker to decide about of the leader of the Opposition. In the next two-three days, we will sit with Congress and Uddhav Thackeray to access the situation. Our main strength is the common people, they have elected us,” Sharad Pawar said.
What has happened?
In a huge political upheaval, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday reached Raj Bhawan along with 29 party MLAs, including Hassan Musharraf and Chhagan Bhujbal and joined Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government.
Pawar, who was the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Maharashtra Assembly, was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister in Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s cabinet. He will share the post of Maharashtra’s Dy CM along with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis.
The presence of NCP president Sharad Pawar and party’s working president Supriya Sule at the Opposition meeting in Patna had irked Ajit Pawar and his supporters, sources said. While Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the deputy chief minister by Governor Ramesh Bais at the ceremony held in the Raj Bhawan, eight other NCP leaders took oath as ministers.
Those who were sworn in as ministers are Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Dharmarao Atram, Anil Patil and Sanjay Bansode.
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