In Pawar Vs Pawar, Ajit Pawar's Cabinet Debut, Key Meetings Today

Ajit Pawar and his aides, including MP Praful Patel, insist that they are the party and not any breakaway faction. The Ajit Pawar camp will now have its new office near the state secretariat. The new 'Rashtrawadi Bhavan' will be inaugurated today. 

A full-blown tussle broke out in the NCP last evening as rival factions went on a sacking spree - a day after Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs switched to Shiv Sena-BJP government.

Soon after Sharad Pawar removed Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare from the NCP "for indulging in anti-party activities", the Ajit Pawar camp hit back by announcing they have replaced NCP Maharashtra president Jayant Patil with Sunil Tatkare.

Along with Praful Patel and MP Sunil Tatkare, the NCP also sacked three other party leaders - Narendra Rathod, Vijay Deshmukh and Shivajirao Garje - for attending the oath ceremony at Raj Bhavan on Sunday. Praful Patel then announced that Ajit Pawar has been appointed the "Group Leader" of the party.

The Sharad Pawar faction has submitted a petition to the Speaker of Maharashtra assembly, Rahul Narvekar, seeking the disqualification of Ajit Pawar and his eight loyalists. 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.

Ajit Pawar declared that the disqualification notices have "no value". "There are notices against 9 of us, I don't think the notice has any value... We have the party with us," he said. In a counter move, the rebels also filed a disqualification petition against Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad. 

Congress leaders today held a crucial meeting to discuss the future course of action is underway. The party seeks the post of leader of opposition as it has the maximum number of MLAs among the Opposition parties in the Maharashtra Assembly - a demand that has NCP founder Sharad Pawar's backing. "The party which has the maximum number of MLAs can demand the post, it's a valid demand," said Pawar senior. On Sunday, Jitendra Awhad was made the Leader of Opposition replacing Ajit Pawar.

Team Uddhav Thackeray will also hold a meeting today to discuss the recent political developments in the state. An editorial in the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana' has claimed that Ajit Pawar will replace Eknath Shinde as the Chief Minister.

In a show of strength, Sharad Pawar visited the memorial of his mentor and Maharashtra's first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan in Satara district yesterday and vowed to rebuild the party. He said the BJP was trying to "destroy" all Opposition parties. "My fight against communal forces begins today. Such rebellions happen. I will rebuild the party," Mr Pawar said.

Asked whether Ajit Pawar's rebellion on Sunday had his blessings, the NCP chief said, "It is a mean thing to say. Only those with a mean and low intellect can say this."