Ajit Pawar to inaugurate new NCP office in Mumbai today

Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar will today inaugurate a new NCP party office near Mantralaya in Mumbai.The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) disqualified nine rebel MLAs including Ajit Pawar who were sworn in as ministers in the Shinde-Fadnavis government 'for indulging in anti-party activities'.

Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal along with Dilip Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Mundo, Dharmaraobaba Atram, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, and Anil Patil joined Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government on Sunday.Talking to reporters after his nephew and eight other party leaders rebelled and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar said he was not worried about what happened and will work to strengthen the party again. "This is not 'googly', it is a robbery. It is not a small thing," Sharad Pawar said.

The Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party will hold separate meetings today.NCP national president Sharad Pawar has called a meeting at 1pm while the Ajit Pawar faction, which has aligned with the ruling Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis dispensation, will have its meet at 11am, functionaries from both sides said.This will be the first meeting involving all functionaries for both factions since the party split on Sunday after Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs, including Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil and Hasan Mushrif, joined the Eknath Shinde government.