Ajit Pawar faction questions NCP's internal election process at speaker's hearing

Mumbai: The Ajit Pawar group of the NCP has questioned the internal election process of the party, saying former minister Jayant Patil, who belongs to the rival faction led by Sharad Pawar, wasn't the elected but nominated president of the Maharashtra unit.

The remarks were made by the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) during the hearing on disqualification petitions before assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday.

Patil maintained he was the state NCP president because he was elected to the post and senior leader Praful Patel, now a member of the Ajit Pawar group, had given him a letter to that effect.

Lawyers representing the Ajit Pawar faction said Patil's term as state NCP president ended in 2022.

Patil countered the argument, saying he was elected for three years and his term continued till a new appointment was made.

During the hearing, Patil was asked 90 questions. Shirur Lok Sabha member Amol Kolhe was also cross-examined.

The 1999-founded party suffered a split when Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs loyal to him took oath as ministers in the Shiv Sena-led government on July 2, 2023.

Subsequently, both factions filed cross-petitions before the speaker seeking disqualification of each other's members from the assembly.

The Supreme Court has set January 31 deadline for the speaker's verdict in the NCP disqualification case.