New Delhi: After meetings in Mumbai by rival factions of the Nationalist Congress Party, Ajit Pawar has been reported to have filed a petition with the Election Commission of India, staking claim to the NCP and its election symbol.
Jayant Patil, a loyalist of Ajit’s uncle Sharad Pawar – who is NCP president – is learned to have submitted the faction’s own caveat with the EC, noting that it has moved to disqualify the nine MLAs of the party who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Maharashtra.
In a surprise move, Ajit and the nine MLAs – five of whom are under the radar of central investigation agencies – jumped ship on Sunday, July 2. All were sworn in as cabinet ministers in the Eknath Shinde government. Ajit is now deputy chief minister of the state, along with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis.
Ajit’s comment on Sharad
Meanwhile, insistence that the NCP was one party amidst the fast-paced developments have rung hollow with Ajit addressing Sharad in public and asking when he was “going to stop?”
“In other parties, leaders retire after an age. In BJP, leaders retire at 75, when are you going to stop? You should also give new people a chance. If we make mistakes, tell us. Your age is 83, will you ever stop or not? You give us blessings,” Ajit said, according to NDTV.
In the same meeting, Ajit said he had 29 of the party’s 53 MLAs, reported NDTV. Some other outlets have reported that the number of MLAs with Ajit could be up to 32.
“Everybody has his innings. The most productive years are from 25 to 75 years,” Ajit further said.
The news agency ANI has reported that NCP leaders of Ajit’s faction were taken to a hotel after this meeting.
Supriya Sule’s comment on Ajit
Supriya Sule, who is Sharad’s daughter and a Lok Sabha MP, headed the rival faction’s rally where 14 MLAs showed up.
There, Sule, without naming Ajit said, “Disrespect us, not our father.”
“Some people are saying that people who are senior now should give us blessings. Why should they stop working? Ratan Tata is 86 years old. Serum Institute’s Cyrus Poonawala’s age is 84. Amitabh Bachchan is 82…,” Sule said, also naming Warren Buffet and Farooq Abdullah, according to NDTV.
Sharad has been reported to have left for Delhi where the party’s National Executive meeting is scheduled today.