NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who took oath as Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister on Sunday, said his party decided to join the Eknath Shinde-led government in the interest of the state and the country, and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
Maintaining that there was no split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Pawar junior said that all the elected representatives (of the party) have supported the decision to join the BJP-Shiv Sena government, and that they would contest all the future elections on the NCP's name and symbol.
With the political environment in the state changing by the minute, here are the key developments so far.
* Despite the clear rift, when asked about who the national president of the party will be, Ajit Pawar on Monday said that the party national president is Sharad Pawar. Praful Patel also rubbished claims of a split and said that they are "one party" and that Sharad Pawar is their leader.
* The NCP has moved a petition before Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, seeking disqualification of Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs who have taken oath as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led government.
* Taking a cue from the setback suffered by Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Pawar's NCP is learned to have written to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to prevent anyone from claiming a stake over the party, contending that the nine MLAs had acted against the party's position by joining the government.
* The post of Leader of Opposition (LoP) fell vacant after Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar resigned on Sunday. Notably, the NCP, led by Sharad Pawar, has appointed MLA Jitendra Awhad as the LoP. The Maharashtra Congress convened a meeting of its legislators today where the post of LoP was expected to be discussed. However, the party said that they would "wait and watch."
* As Ajit Pawar’s switch marks the onset of yet another political turmoil in the state, Sanjay Raut said that Ajit Pawar would be the Chief Minister of Maharashtra as "Eknath Shinde is set to be disqualified" because of the rebellion. “Shinde and 15 other MLAs will be disqualified for sure…and BJP has brought in Pawar to save the government…once Shinde is disqualified, Pawar would then eventually take over as the Chief Minister,” said Raut. However, the BJP dismissed the claims, saying the speculation of Shinde losing the chief minister's post is nothing but kite-flying.
* NCP chief Sharad Pawar sacked Praful Patel and Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare for standing with Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar in his rebellion and engaging in "anti-party” activities.
* Soon after being removed as NCP working president, Praful Patel on Monday evening announced the appointment of Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare as the party's state unit chief , replacing Jayant Patil, and Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar as its legislature wing leader. "Today is Guru Purnima; we all wish that Sharad Pawar continues to bless us," Patel later said.
* NCP’s current status is confusing not only for a bystander but also for the Speaker of the state. Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has said he is yet to ascertain whether the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a part of the Shiv Sena-BJP government or is still in the Opposition.
* Amid the fast-changing political landscape in Maharashtra, a poster has cropped up asking the two warring Thackeray cousins—Uddhav and Raj—to unite. The poster has been put up by local MNS leader Laxman Patil in the Dadar area of Mumbai. However, Uddhav, the head of Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj, the President of MNS, have not reacted to it.
* On the family front, both Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule have maintained that Ajit remains an important part of their family and they don’t let politics affect their personal life.
(With Agency and DHNS inputs)