Members of the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Ajit Pawar met with veteran Sharad Pawar for a second consecutive day on Monday in a bid to convince him to keep the party united, reported The Hindu.
On July 2, Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena coalition government to become Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister. Ajit Pawar was joined by several MLAs of the Nationalist Congress Party who shifted their loyalties to the saffron party. However, Sharad Pawar faction had initiated disqualification proceedings against Ajit Pawar and the legislators who joined the ruling BJP-led coalition government.
On Sunday, Ajit Pawar along with senior leaders of the party, met with the 83-year-old politician. On Monday, the deputy chief minister, along with another group of MLAs from the rebel camp, visited Sharad Pawar, reported The Indian Express.
“In today’s meeting with Sharad Saheb, we again asked him to ensure that the NCP [Nationalist Congress Party] stays united,” the party’s Working President Praful Patel said. “Although he attentively listened to us, like yesterday, even today, he refrained from offering a reaction.”
Patel also confirmed that the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party will attend a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance led by the BJP on Tuesday. Sharad Pawar, along with his daughter and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, is expected to attend a meeting of Opposition leaders in Bengaluru.
The Nationalist Congress Party’s Maharashtra chief Jayant Patil, who is part of the group led by Sharad Pawar, said that the rebel MLAs on Monday sought the veteran politician’s advice on the way forward.
“Dialogue must continue in a democracy.” Patil said reported The Indian Express. “Pawar saheb meets every person who comes to his office and he met all the MLAs today as well. There is no question of Pawar saheb diverting from his position of not joining hands with the BJP. Hence, there is no confusion about saheb’s position.”
Monday also marked the first day of the Maharashtra Assembly’s Monsoon Session. Only 25 out of 53 MLAs of the Nationalist Congress Party were present inside the House, with 10 legislators sitting in the Opposition side and the rest with the ruling side, reported The Indian Express.
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