Both factions trying to ensure maximum number of MLAs at their gatherings
For the first time after the vertical split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the two feuding factions — one led by party president Sharad Pawar and another by his nephew and breakaway group leader Ajit Pawar — will be flexing their muscles at parallel meetings of their leaders and supporters, convened by them at two separate venues here on Wednesday.
While the Ajit-led faction has called its meeting at the MET Institute of Management in Bandra, north-west Mumbai, at 11 am, the Sharad Pawar-led group has its meeting at the YB Chavan Auditorium in Nariman Point, south Mumbai, at 1 pm. Both factions have called their respective MLAs, MLCs, party leaders, and workers at various levels across Maharashtra.
Being seen as shows of strength put on by the Sharad and Ajit factions, Wednesday’s parallel meetings will see both factions trying to ensure a maximum number of MLAs at their respective gatherings. This headcount of MLAs present at each of the two parallel meetings will prove whether Ajit has the necessary numbers to escape action under the anti-defection law.
More than the party patriarch Sharad, the onus will be on the breakaway group leader Ajit to ensure that at least 36 NCP MLAs are present at the meeting if he is to prove that the entire party has switched sides.
The NCP has 53 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. To prove that he has two-thirds of the MLAs with him, so as not to attract the provisions of the anti-defection law, Ajit needs the support of at least 36 MLAs.
On his part, Ajitdada — as Ajit Pawar is known in the State political circles — has chosen not to reveal how many MLAs are with him. However, the leaders supporting him have claimed that they submitted a letter to Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, claiming Ajit enjoys the support of more than 40 MLAs and six out of the nine MLCs. There is no confirmation as to whether Ajit indeed gave such a letter to the Governor.
On his part, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has gone on record saying that he does not know how many MLAs are supporting Ajit. He has said that he will not rush into the whole thing and will take an appropriate decision on how to proceed after he receives a formal letter from Ajit regarding the support base that he enjoys among the NCP MLAs.
Ahead of the parallel meetings scheduled for Wednesday, both factions were busy securing their MLAs.
On the face of it, Ajit seems to have a larger number of MLAs with him than his uncle Sharad. The moot question is: Are the numbers that Ajit has with him sufficient to help sail through the rebellion drama in the coming days and weeks?
NCP’s working president Supriya Sule and Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil are leading the charge from the Sharad faction side, while Ajit and the party’s erstwhile working president Praful Patel are in charge of the affairs in the rebel faction.
Jayant Patil, a close aide of Sharad Pawar, has gone to town saying, “The Ajit Pawar faction is a notional party.”
Patil said that as many as 44 NCP MLAs are with the Sharad Pawar faction, while the nine MLAs, including Ajit Pawar, who have switched sides, have become ministers in the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis Government.
On the other side, Ajit has gone on record saying, “We have the numbers.”
Sharad, who is currently on a tour of Maharashtra and will remain present at Wednesday’s meeting, has been calling up his party MLAs since Sunday when the rebellion started, asking his party MLAs to return to the parent party.
Sr Pawar has also started a series of consultations with top lawyers on how to proceed further in the crisis that has rocked his 24-year-old NCP.