A day after the Nationalist Congress Party’s working committee meeting held in New Delhi approved president Sharad Pawar’s decision to expel Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare and nine party MLAs, the breakaway Ajit Pawar faction claimed here on Friday that the 24-year-old party’s organisational structure was “flawed” and that the NCP had not split nor had the Ajit Pawar-led faction merged with any other party.
Addressing a joint news conference with breakaway group leader Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel claimed that the meeting of the NCP’s working committee, held in the national capital on Thursday, was “illegal” and the decisions taken at that meeting were not valid.
Charging that the NCP’s organisational structure was “flawed” and it was not in line with the party’s constitution, Praful Patel said: “Organisational elections have not happened in the party for the last many years. Most of us were earlier appointed and not elected. Thus going by our own NCP constitution, the party’s working committee does not have powers to take decisions like the one it took at the meeting held yesterday in the national capital”.
Reiterating that “We (the NCP led by Ajit Pawar) are the NCP”, Patel said: “The NCP has not split as is being claimed by the rival faction. Almost all the MLAs and MPs are with us. We are the NCP. At a meeting held on June 30, 2023 at Ajit Pawar’s official residence `Deogiri’, our party took many decisions...”
“At the June 30 meeting, I was appointed as the national working president. Ajit Pawar was appointed the NCP legislature party leader. Anil Patil was appointed chief whip in the Assembly. We informed Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar about these appointments. Amol Mitkari was appointed as chief whip in the Upper House and the Council Chairperson’s office was informed,” Patel said.
Patel dubbed the NCP-led NCP’s state party president Jayant Patil filing a petition with the Speaker seeking the disqualification of Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs who joined the Shinde-Fadnavis government, as “invalid”. “As per the Constitution of the party, Patil is not the State NCP president and has no right to seek disqualification of MLAs.” Patel said.
Patel said that the same day (June 30) his party had submitted a petition to the Election Commission along with the affidavits of 40 MLAs, informing him about Ajit Pawar's appointment and staking claim over the party name and symbol.
Seeking to help the rebel MLAs escape from the wrath of the anti-defection law wherein the defection is recognised only when two-thirds of MLAs of a party switch over to another party and if the number of lower that they will have to merge with another party, Patel said that the question of a split or merger did not arise in his party’s case.
“Who will determine (which is) the (real) political party ? It is in the domain of the Election Commission while actions of the MLAs is the domain of the Speaker or Chairperson,” Patel said, as he referred to the judgement of the Supreme Court in the Eknath Shinde vs Uddhav Thackeray Shiv Sena case.