Ajit Pawar Meets Devendra Fadnavis For Power-Sharing Discussion: 10 Points

Ajit Pawar met Devendra Fadnavis at his residence hours after meeting the rebel NCP MLAs this morning – reportedly to discuss the power-sharing formula. "A discussion was held regarding allocation of ministries to Ajit Pawar and the eight NCP MLAs who have switched to the Shinde-led government," sources said.

Sharad Pawar today visited the memorial of his mentor and Maharashtra's first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan in Satara district - which is being seen as a show of strength a day after his nephew's big switch. He said the BJP was trying to "destroy" all Opposition parties, and vowed to rebuild the NCP. "My fight against communal forces begins today. Such rebellions happen. I will rebuild the party," Mr Pawar said.

The veteran politician later addressed the media as well. Sharad Pawar said he has launched a statewide tour to strengthen the NCP and boost the confidence of party workers. "Those who tried to break NCP, we will show them their real place," he said.

The NCP has submitted a petition to the Speaker of Maharashtra assembly, Rahul Narvekar, seeking the disqualification of Ajit Pawar and his eight loyalists. "The very act of these MLAs of going to the Governor of Maharashtra, and taking oath as Deputy Chief Minister and ministers in the government led by Eknath Shinde - which is strongly opposed by the NCP - amounts to voluntarily giving up membership of the NCP political party," the 22-page disqualification petition said.

The party has also written to the Election Commission of India (EC) conveying that Sharad Pawar, who founded the NCP in 1999, continues to head the party and that there is no change in the leadership. They also urged the poll body to hear them before acting upon on any request from Ajit Pawar camp.

 Ajit Pawar has claimed he has the support of practically the entire party. He also staked claim to the party's name and symbol, much like Chief Minister Eknath Shinde after the split in Shiv Sena. For Ajit Pawar, the next move should be to move the Election Commission and prove that he is the original NCP. BJP sources have said that Ajit Pawar claims to have the backing of over 40 of NCP's total 53 MLAs in the state assembly. 

Reacting to the nephew's big switch, Sharad Pawar yesterday had said he would build new leadership in the party. He, however, maintained that "there is no problem in the family." "There's no problem in the family. We don't discuss politics in the family. Everyone takes their own decision," Mr Pawar said.

Party's working president Supriya Sule, who is also the daughter of Sharad Pawar, said the developments in the party will not impact the Opposition's unity. She also said that Ajit Pawar may have different views, but she will "always love him as a sister." "I can never have a fight with my brother," Ms Sule told media.

The Congress indicated that they are standing with Sharad Pawar as they watched the evolving situation in Maharashtra. Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan asserted that Sharad Pawar, one of the most astute politicians in the country, will put up a fight - at least in the people's court.

NCP suffered a vertical split yesterday after Ajit Pawar joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra - a post he will share with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis. Eight other NCP MLAs, including staunch Sharad Pawar loyalists like Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil, were also made ministers.