A look at the top developments from Maharashtra:

  1. Veteran leader Sharad Pawar on Thursday asserted that he is the chief of the Nationalist Congress Party. “Whether I am 82 or 92, I shall continue to do my work,” Pawar said during a press conference, according to The Hindu. He refuted his nephew Ajit Pawar’s claim of being the real NCP chief saying: “Anyone can say anything. There is no truth in this.”
  2. Sharad Pawar also expelled Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare and SR Kohli from the party for backing Ajit Pawar, reported NDTV. The decision was taken at the National Executive meeting called by Sharad Pawar in Delhi today.
  3. The Ajit Pawar camp, however, claimed that the meeting called by Sharad Pawar has no legal sanctity. “The dispute on the question of who represents the real NCP is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the ECI and therefore no person within the Party has any authority to call for any meeting,” the faction said in a statement, according to NDTV.
  4. Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday said that Eknath Shinde will continue as the chief minister of the state, hours after newly-appointed Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar stated that he wanted the top post. “He [Shinde] is doing a good job for the state,” Bawankule said. “Opposition parties are creating confusion.”
  5. Ajit Pawar had rebelled and joined the Maharashtra government on Sunday. Two days before the political crisis played out, he had removed his uncle Sharad Pawar from the post of Nationalist Congress Party president and approached the Election Commission staking claim to the party name as well as symbol, PTI reported on Wednesday. Ajit Pawar had also made claims to the poll panel that he had been elected president of the Nationalist Congress Party on June 30.
  6. On Wednesday, the Election Commission received 40 affidavits, dated June 30, from MPs, MLAs and MLCs expressing support for Ajit Pawar along with an undated resolution unanimously electing him as the chief of the Nationalist Congress Party, according to PTI.
  7. Ajit Pawar’s petition claiming the party symbol was filed under paragraph 15 of the Symbols Order of 1968, which gives the Election Commission authority to decide on matters related to merger or split of a party.
  8. Sharad Pawar loyalist Jayant Patil, on the other hand, has filed a caveat with the poll body to hear them first before passing any order, PTI reported. Patil has informed the Election Commission about the disqualification proceedings that have been initiated against nine MLAs, including Ajit Pawar, who were sworn in as ministers on Sunday.
  9. The battle between Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar to control the 24-year-old political outfit escalated on Wednesday after both factions convened separate meetings to demonstrate their strength. Reports said that 32 out of the party’s 53 MLAs attended the meeting convened by Ajit Pawar, while 18 MLAs turned up to support Sharad Pawar.
  10. Ajit Pawar, who has taken oath as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra thrice in less than four years, questioned why Sharad Pawar should continue to lead the party at his age. “You are 83, aren’t you going to stop?” the Baramati MLA asked. “Give us your blessings and we will pray that you live a long life.”