Amid the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) crisis in Maharashtra, both the factions Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar camp has convened separate meetings in Mumbai today where a clear picture may emerge on the exact number of MLAs backing each group amid the contrasting claims.
During the meeting in Mumbai Sharad Pawar said Ajit Pawar should have spoken to me if he had any problems. If he had something on his mind he could have approached me. You Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called the NCP corrupt. So, why have you allied with the NCP now?. Whatever happened to Uddhav Thackeray has been repeated.
We weren't taken into confidence by the MLAs who decided to split. Ajit Pawar faction has not followed any procedure, said NCP President Sharad Pawar.
In a surprise move on July 2nd NCP leader Ajit Pawar who was also the Maharashtra Leader of Opposition joined the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in Maharashtra and took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister. The move by NCP chief Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar, which also saw eight other NCP MLAs joining the Shinde-Fadnavis government, came amid efforts by opposition parties to forge unity to take on the BJP in the next year's Lok Sabha polls.