Ajit Pawar claims NCP chief’s post: Does he have the numbers? What does this mean for Sharad Pawar?

What’s next for Sharad Pawar and the Nationalist Congress Party? That’s the question everyone has been pondering since his nephew Ajit – along with eight other MLAs – joined the Maharashtra government on Sunday as deputy chief minister. Now, with the two factions claiming to be the ‘real NCP’, let’s take a closer look at what Ajit is saying, Pawar’s actions, how the numbers stack up and what happens next for the NCP founder: What is Ajit’s faction saying? According to NDTV, the Ajit  faction told the Election Commission that he has been elected NCP chief and that he has ‘removed’ his uncle from the post of national president. The outlet quoted EC sources as saying that Ajit had been elected on 30 June – days before he was sworn-in as Maharashtra deputy chief minister. Ajit’s faction has submitted 40 affidavits of MLAs and MPs in its support. Ajit’s faction has also been using Pawar’s photograph – despite being asked not to do so by the NCP founder.

The outlet quoted Ajit as saying hat he wants to be Maharashtra chief minister someday.

Ajit asked Narwekar to disqualify state NCP president Jayant Patil and Chief Whip Jitendra Awhad as MLAs. How has Pawar’s faction responded? Pawar’s faction has filed a plea with the Election Commission asking it to hear them out before passing any order, as per The Times of India. According to the newspaper, the poll body is likely to hear the matter in a few days.

NDTV quoted Pawar as saying that the poll symbol is ‘going nowhere’.

“There is no need to worry. The party symbol is with us, it is not going anywhere. The people and party workers who brought us to power are with us," Pawar was quoted as saying by Indian Express. [caption id=“attachment_12816792” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A defiant Sharad Pawar has vowed to hold on to the NCP symbol. PTI[/caption] Indian Express quoted Pawar as saying that the party needs to create a new generation of leaders. “The NCP has gone with the BJP in Nagaland. North East is on the border of China where political decisions need to be taken with due care. We therefore supported from the outside. Check the history of those who have gone with BJP in the country. Akali Dal lost everything. Andhra, Bihar and many examples show that the BJP destroys allies everywhere. Therefore, do remember that nothing different will happen with you as well,” Pawar told Ajit. “The Hindutva of Shiv Sena is of bringing all castes together, while that of the BJP is divisive, manuvadi and poisonous. The state recently faced communal riots. The one who plays divisive politics cannot be a patriot and we cannot take the position to join them,” Pawar added. As per The Print, the Pawar faction has requested Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to disqualify nine rebel MLAs. Pawar on Monday sacked party’s working president Praful Patel and Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare, who have sided with Aji for “anti-party” activities. Tatkare’s daughter Aditi was among the ministers who took oath on Sunday. Sharad Pawar, in a tweet, said, “I, as the National President, of Nationalist Congress Party hereby order the removal of the names of Shri Sunil Tatkare and Shri Praful Patel from the Register of Members of NCP Party for anti-party activities.” He tagged Patel, a Rajya Sabha MP who was appointed as NCP working president last month, and Tatkare in his tweet. How do the numbers stack up? Both NCP factions, who held separate ‘show of strength’ meetings in Mumbai, claimed to have the most MLAs. News18 reported that 32 of the 54 Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs were present at Ajit’s  meet, while 18 attended the Sharad’s gathering. But NDTV reported that the Ajit faction had 29 MLAs, while the Pawar faction paraded 13 MLAs. According to former principal secretary of Maharashtra Legislature Anant Kalse, Ajit Pawar camp needs the support of at least 36 MLAs to avoid disqualification. MLA Anil Patil claimed that as many as 40 of the 53 party MLAs are with Ajit – a claim echoed by breakaway NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal. Party sources told PTI 35 of 53 NCP MLAs were present at the party meeting convened by Ajit in Mumbai, The number will increase further, the sources said. Five of eight NCP MLCs are also attending the meeting taking place in suburban Bandra, they said. Bhujbal, speaking at the Mumbai Education Trust Institute (MET) in Bandra Wednesday afternoon, said, “We have done all due diligence before taking the oath… We did not take it just like that.” Bhujbal also rejected allegations the faction had joined the government out of fear of legal cases. “This is not correct. Dhananjay Munde, Dilip Walse Patil and Ramraje Nimbalkar (among those sworn in) have no cases against them. There are several other people who have no cases against them but are still here,” The Print quoted Bhujbal as saying. Bhujbal added that “some close aides” of Pawar were out to finish the party. “We are ready to come back to you once you sideline them. We will come back to you then,” Bhujbal said. Supporters of Ajit gathered outside his Devgiri official residence in south Mumbai before he left to attend the meeting at Bandra. “We are hard core Dada (as Ajit Pawar is called) supporters. We have come all the way from Baramati,” an NCP worker told the media outside Devgiri. The Pawar faction convened a parallel meeting at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in south Mumbai. The meet was attended by NCP working president and Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule and other senior leaders, including the party’s recently-elected chief whip Jitendra Awhad, leader Anil Deshmukh among others. Outside Silver Oak, the senior Pawar’s residence in south Mumbai, a party worker was seen carrying a banner which read: ‘83-year-old warrior waging a fight alone’. What next for NCP founder? A piece in The Wire noted nothing is ever straightforward when it comes to Pawar. “With Sharad Pawar, there is never a straight line or an obvious explanation. He always has a few tricks up his sleeve – as far back as in 1978, he left the Congress and joined hands with the Janata Party to become the chief minister of Maharashtra. Since then, he has shown a penchant for playing all sides to try and maximise the results for his own gains,” the piece stated.

The piece added that Ajit’s defection was a blow to the Opposition.

“And where does that leave Sharad Pawar? As an ageing leader of a tiny party or the man who still is calling the shots in his home state from behind the scenes? There is no way of knowing that now,” the piece concluded. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .