Rahul Gandhi meets Sharad Pawar amid Maharashtra political crisis

In an apparent show of support for the veteran NCP leader amid a rebellion in his party, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday called on Sharad Pawar at the NCP president’s residence. Gandhi reached 6, Janpath, the official residence of the NCP veteran soon after Pawar addressed the media following his party’s working committee meeting.

#WATCH | Congress leader Rahul Gandhi meets NCP President Sharad Pawar in Delhi pic.twitter.com/vU2DUZZMqH

— ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2023

As the battle for real NCP takes centerstage, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said that National Executive Meeting called by his uncle Sharad Pawar in New Delhi is illegal and the decisions taken at the meeting won’t be binding on the party leaders. “The dispute on the question of who represents the real NCP is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the ECI and therefore no person within the party has any authority to call for any meeting of the National Executive/National Working Committee/National Office Bearers/ State Party Presidents till such time the dispute is finally decided by the ECI,” read a statement released by Ajit Pawar’s team. The statement added that the meeting of the National Executive taking place in Delhi today has no legal sanctity whatsoever. “Further, any of the decisions which may be taken in the so called National Executive Meeting shall have no valid legal basis and shall not be binding on anyone in the party,” the statement said. According to the statement, Ajit Pawar was elected the National President of NCP on 30 June with the overwhelming support from majority of elected representatives of NCP as well as the members working on different organisational posts. “Ajit Pawar has also filed a petition before the Election Commission of India, stating that he represents the real NCP and therefore, the name of the party along with the symbol be granted to him,” the statement added. Earlier in the day, Sharad Pawar arrived in Delhi to chair the party’s National Executive Meeting amid the ongoing political turmoil in Maharashtra. 13 NCP leaders, including PC Chacko, Jitendra Awhad, Fauzia Khan, Vandana Chavan and more are attending the meeting. Sharad Pawar left for the national capital on Thursday morning to attend the crucial meeting a day after losing the majority of his legislators to his nephew Ajit Pawar. This comes after the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and Ajit Pawar held separate meetings with their MLAs in Mumbai on Wednesday. The meeting in Delhi assumes significance as Ajit Pawar has staked a claim on the NCP and Sharad Pawar will have to prepare for a long legal battle. The national executive meeting is expected to take a few decisions to ensure that Ajit Pawar fails in taking over the control of the NCP. With inputs from agencies