Two days after the split in the NCP, the drama intensified. NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Monday announced the expulsion of MPs Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel for “anti-party activities”. This comes after Patel “removed” Jayant Patil as NCP Maharashtra president and “appointed” Tatkare as the new state president. Jayant Patil sent a letter to Ajit Pawar and eight other party MLAs informing them of the disqualification proceedings against them.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Congress has called a meeting of its legislators on Tuesday, where the issue of claiming the post of Leader of Opposition in the state assembly is likely to come up for discussion. On Sunday, Jitendra Awhad became the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, replacing Ajit Pawar, who had articulated a split in the NCP by joining the Maharashtra government.
Union minister Anurag Thakur says, “Several political parties want to join the NDA for the development of the country and the NCP has initiated it. I believe NCP’s entry into the Maharashtra state cabinet will help in the development of the state. Looking ahead to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, these political parties joining the NDA will provide a strong and stable government at the Center for the development of the country.”
The Maharashtra Congress has called a meeting of its legislators on Tuesday to discuss the issue of a bid for the post of Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, a party chief said. All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary HK Patil will attend the meeting.
The post of Leader of the Opposition (LoP) fell vacant after Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar resigned on Friday. On Sunday, he joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government as deputy chief minister while eight other NCP MLAs were sworn in as ministers. Notably, Sharad Pawar-led NCP has nominated MLA Jitendra Awhad as LoP.
