A day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) suffered a split, party supremo Sharad Pawar on Monday removed MPs Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare from the party for "anti-party" activities. The development came hours after Patel, Tatkare and Ajit Pawar hold a joint press conference and made structural changes in the NCP.
Earlier in the day, the NCP also disqualified Ajit Pawar and eight revel MLAs. On Sunday, Ajit Pawar, who was the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, took oath as Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister. Eight other NCP MLAs also joined the Maharashtra government. After Ajit Pawar joined the state government, the NCP supremo said he was not upset with anybody but slammed Patel and Sunil Tatkare for "abandoning" the guidelines of the party president.
Shahrad Pawar expelled Praful Patel and MP Sunil Tatkare from the party "for indulging in anti-party activities". "Your actions of supporting Ajit Pawar and the eight other MLAs, who have sworn oath as Ministers in violation of the party's direction and mandate, ex-facie amount to anti-party activities and that you deemed to have voluntarily left the membership of Nationalist Congress Party," Sharad Pawar said in a communication.
The NCP on Monday disqualified nine MLAs including Ajit Pawar, who were sworn in as ministers in the Shinde-Fadnavis government on July 2, for indulging in anti-party activities.
The Ajit Pawar camp removed state NCP president Jayant Patil and made new appointments.
Parful Patel in a joint conference appointed Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkar as the new State President of the NCP in Maharashtra. During a joint conference, the NCP leader Patel announced, "We are relieving Jayant Patil of his responsibilities and in his place, I am appointing Sunil Tatkare as Maharashtra President of Nationalist Congress Party. Sunil Tatkare will have the authority to make organizational changes in the party."
Patel further said that Ajit Pawar has been unanimously elected as the leader of the legislature party.
Anil Bhaidas Patil has been appointed as the chief whip of NCP in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, said Praful Patel.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who was present at the press meet, said he enjoyed the support of "maximum" NCP legislators and said he has given a letter to the Assembly Speaker, seeking the disqualification of party MLAs Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad.
The deputy CM mocked the notice of disqualification against him and eight newly sworn-in ministers and also the sacking of Patel and Tatkare as well as office-bearers who attended Sunday's oath-taking ceremony.
Ajit Pawar supporters staged a protest against Jitendra Awahad and Jayant Patil.
The Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party will hold their meetings in Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in south Mumbai and in Bhujbal Knowledge City in suburban Bandra, respectively, on Wednesday.
Ajit Pawar took oath as Deputy Chief Minister on Sunday, July 2. Eight other NCP leaders took oath as ministers. The NCP has 53 MLAs in the 288-member Assembly. Ajit Pawar needs the support of atleast 36 MLAs to prevent anti-defection law to come into force
(With inputs from agencies)