Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and asserted that there is no alternative to him, while the rival Nationalist Congress Party factions geared up for crucial meetings post-split in what is likely to be a show of strength by them.
The Congress legislature party met on Tuesday, while the two rival factions of the NCP will hold their separate conclaves on Wednesday, which is expected to bring some clarity on the number of MLAs in each camp and decide their way forward.
The NCP has 53 MLAs in the 288-member house and the Ajit Pawar camp has claimed the support of 40 of them.
The Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the NCP will hold their meetings in Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in south Mumbai and Bhujbal Knowledge City in suburban Bandra, respectively.
NCP president Sharad Pawar has called a meeting at 1pm, while the Ajit Pawar faction, which has aligned with the Eknath Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party government will gather at 11 am.
Three days after switching over to the ruling camp from the Opposition along with eight other NCP MLAs, Ajit Pawar was effusive in his praise of Modi as he inaugurated his faction's new office in south Mumbai.
”The country is marching ahead under his (Modi's) leadership. We have joined the government to support him. There is no leader like Modi. There is no alternative to him,” he said.
Ajit Pawar indicated that the allocation of portfolios for the new entrants in the state ministry may not be announced immediately.
He attributed the delay to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis leaving for Nagpur to welcome President Droupadi Murmu.
”We all have decided to work together. There is no question of disgruntlement,” he said, when asked if some members in the Shinde group are unhappy over his inclusion in the ministry.
The CLP met on Tuesday, but didn't discuss the issue of the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly and has decided to adopt a "wait and watch" approach amid the fast-paced political developments in the state, a senior leader said.
It was earlier said the Congress might discuss the issue of staking claim to the post of LoP after Ajit Pawar resigned from the post and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government on July 2.
At the CLP meeting held at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai, the Congress decided to work for strengthening the party as well as the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of which it is one of the constituents along with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction and the Shiv Sena (UBT), the leader said.
The meeting was attended by AICC in-charge of Maharashtra HK Patil and 39 out of 45 MLAs, including CLP leader Balasaheb Thorat.
"We will strengthen the MVA and the Congress. We have supported Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar. We will wait and watch how developments unfold in the coming days," said HK Patil.
Congress leaders also met Sharad Pawar and expressed solidarity with him amid the crisis in his party, while a weakened MVA decided to launch a statewide tour to galvanise its workers to take on the Shiv Sena-BJP government.
After attending the CLP meeting, state Congress president Nana Patole and working president Naseem Khan went to the YB Chavan Centre to meet Sharad Pawar.
"The Congress condemns the manner in which the BJP engineered a split in the NCP legislature party. The MVA will stay united and defeat the BJP," Patole told reporters.
CLP leader Thorat said the MVA will emerge stronger in view of the current crisis as people are with the Opposition bloc.
Congress leader Naseem Khan said the MVA will soon launch a state-wide tour to galvanise its workers to fight the Eknath Shinde-BJP government.
Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said only the party of which he is president and Jayant Patil the Maharashtra unit chief should use his photograph.
Those who "betrayed" his ideology should not use his photograph, the former Union agriculture minister told reporters.
Incidentally, the senior Pawar's photo was seen at the new office of the Ajit Pawar faction in south Mumbai.
Sharad Pawar is seeking legal opinion to tackle the crisis in the 24-year-old party caused by his nephew Ajit Pawar joining the Shiv Sena-BJP government and claiming the support of the bulk of MLAs, party sources said.
Sharad Pawar, who returned from Satara on Monday night, is holding discussions with legal experts on how to handle the ongoing developments, said NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto.
"Taking legal opinion is necessary as this issue concerns Schedule 10 of the Constitution (which deals with defections)," he said.
According to Crasto, the Ajit Pawar-led group doesn't enjoy the support of more than 13 MLAs and can attract the provisions of the anti-defection law.
"A clear picture of the support for Sharad Pawar will emerge on Wednesday at the meeting convened by Sharad Pawar at 1 pm," Crasto said.
Amid tussle between the rival camps to control the party after the split, Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil said the group led by Ajit Pawar has no right to remove him from the post.
A day earlier, the Ajit Pawar camp appointed Sunil Tatkare as the Maharashtra NCP president in place of Jayant Patil. It also asked the Maharashtra assembly speaker to disqualify Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad from membership of the house.
"The faction (led by Ajit Pawar) is a 'Notionalist' Party. They have no right to remove me from the post (of NCP state unit president)," Jayant Patil told reporters.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar dared the Sharad Pawar-led NCP to parade the number of MLAs supporting them.
Speaking to reporters, Mungantiwar said, ”I challenge them (Sharad Pawar-led NCP) to show the number of MLAs supporting them. The MLAs are behind Ajit Pawar. He has chosen to go with development and truth.”
