All seven MLAs of the Nationalist Congress Party in Nagaland extended support to Ajit Pawar’s faction on Thursday, reported PTI.
Ajit Pawar, along with eight rebel MLAs of the party, had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena coalition government in Maharashtra on July 2. The move led to a split within the Nationalist Congress Party, with one faction supporting veteran leader Sharad Pawar and other’s supporting his nephew, Ajit Pawar.
Ajit Pawar, who took the oath as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, was appointed as the finance minister last week. The rebel MLAs – Dharmobaba Atram, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Anil Patil, Sanjay Bansode – were also given portfolios in the state Cabinet.
Sharad Pawar’s faction has initiated disqualification proceedings against Ajit Pawar and the legislators who joined the ruling government.
On Thursday, Vanthungo Odyuo, the president of Nagaland unit of the Nationalist Congress Party, met party’s working president Praful Patel and Maharashtra unit chief Sunil Tatkare in Delhi and extended support to the Ajit Pawar-led faction.
“He [Odyuo] has also submitted affidavits signed by all the district presidents and seven MLAs of the party extending their support to Ajit Pawar,” Brijmohan Shrivastava, the national spokesperson of Ajit Pawar-led faction said, reported the Hindustan Times.
The move has highlighted widening chasm within the party’s two factions. Ajit Pawar has succeeded in getting a majority of 53 MLAs from the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra on his side.
However, the Goa unit of the party has extended support to Sharad Pawar.
“Goa NCP chief Jose Phillip D’Souza, and all those who are heading frontals, cell and the office bearers have submitted their affidavits declaring their support to Pawar saheb,” Clyde Crasto, national spokesperson of the party said, reported the Hindustan Times.
On Tuesday, Sharad Pawar had attended the meeting of 26 Opposition parties in Bengaluru, while Ajit Pawar attended the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance meeting in Delhi.
However, before attending the meeting, Ajit Pawar camp had met Sharad Pawar for two days in a row in a bid to convince him to keep the party united.
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