Mumbai (Maharashtra): Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday declared Ajit Pawar faction as the 'real NCP'. Narwekar also ruled that the MLAs of Ajit Pawar's group are not disqualified.
The verdict by Maharashtra Assembly Speaker is seen as big setback to NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). The Ajit Pawar faction has the support of 43 MLAs and six MLCs. Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar gave the verdict that the party belongs to Ajit Pawar, who is the nephew of former Union Minister Sharad Pawar.
"All the petitions seeking disqualification of MLAs are rejected," Narwekar further said. "Misuse of provisions of constitution's 10th schedule by political parties was apparent in NCP case," the Speaker added.
"Questioning Sharad Pawar's decision or defying his wishes did not amount to defection. The party leadership can not use 10th schedule to stifle dissent of large number of members by threatening to disqualify," added Narwekar.
The Maharashtra Assembly Speaker also noted that the Sharad Pawar faction cannot be held to be disqualified. According to Narwekar, he cannot decide who is the president of NCP. On June 30, 2023, there was a split in the NCP, which was founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999. There was no dispute till then. Rahul Narvekar gave his verdict on five petitions, three of which filed from the Sharad Pawar group, while two petitions were submitted by the Ajit Pawar faction.
Ajit Pawar broke ranks with NCP founded by Sharad Pawar and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra, headed by Eknath Shinde. Ajit Pawar has the support of senior NCP leaders Sunil Tatkare, Praful Patel, Hasan Mushrif, Chhagan Bhujbal among others.
