As the battle for control over NCP intensifies between deputy CM Ajit and his uncle Sharad Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal said that he along with other Nationalist Congress Party MLAs joined the Shinde-Fadnavis government in a “legal manner”, and “there is no possibility of their disqualification”. “Ajit Pawar will be our national president. We tried our best to convince our colleagues till the very end. When it didn’t yield any outcome, we went ahead with our decision.
Earlier, Chhagan Bhujbal sent a strong message to party chief Sharad Pawar and appealed all senior politicians to think about the betterment of Maharashtra. Responding to the fuss over using Pawar's photograph by rebel leaders at the new NCP office, Bhujbal echoed other leaders' take and said he consider the party chief as his ‘guru’ and he gave a ‘guru dakshina’ by bringing his party to the position of power.
On the ocassion of Guru Purnima, I have given the ‘guru dakshina' by taking the party to the position of power in the state, and also made his nephew (Ajit Pawar) the deputy chief minister,” Bhujbal, who is believed to be a fierce loyalist of Sharad Pawar, told reporters in Mumbai.
NCP saw an unexpected split within the party on Sunday when Ajit Pawar, along with eight party MLAs, joined hands with Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state. What caught off-guard was visuals of Bhujbal swearing in as a state minister along side other rebels.As the infighting between split factions of the party rambles on, Ajit Pawar has approached the Election Commission of India (ECI) to stake claim of NCP and its symbol, as reported by PTI.