As many as 40 out of 53 NCP MLAs joined Ajit Pawar when he rebelled against his uncle in June 2023.
A day after Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said that his party can welcome MLAs who had sided with Ajit Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said it showed the desperation of a party struggling to find leaders to contest the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.
“Sharad Pawar saheb’s party is saddled with a handful of MLAs and he is now looking for leaders who will contest on its ticket,” NCP spokesperson Umesh Patil told Indian Express.
But those leaders who would help strengthen the organisation and not hurt the image of the party would be taken in,” said Pawar.
“Last time, when [MLA] Rohit Pawar had claimed that 17-18 MLAs were keen to join their party, we had firmly stated that not a single MLA would leave our party.
As many as 40 out of 53 NCP MLAs joined Ajit Pawar when he rebelled against his uncle in June 2023.
A day after Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said that his party can welcome MLAs who had sided with Ajit Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said it showed the desperation of a party struggling to find leaders to contest the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.
“Sharad Pawar saheb’s party is saddled with a handful of MLAs and he is now looking for leaders who will contest on its ticket,” NCP spokesperson Umesh Patil told Indian Express.
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On Tuesday, Pawar said those MLAs who would not “hurt” the image of the party would be taken back after due consultations with the party cadre.
“Those who wanted to weaken the party would not be taken in. But those leaders who would help strengthen the organisation and not hurt the image of the party would be taken in,” said Pawar.
“Last time, when [MLA] Rohit Pawar had claimed that 17-18 MLAs were keen to join their party, we had firmly stated that not a single MLA would leave our party. We maintain the same view even now. There is no chance of any MLA quitting our party," he said.
He was addressing the media after re-inducting former Union minister Suryakanta Patil into the party, three days after she resigned from the BJP.
Patil was reportedly upset with the BJP after it denied her candidature for the Hingoli Lok Sabha seat in the recently held general elections.
According to reports, several MLAs from Ajit Pawar’s faction have been in touch with Sharad Pawar and his party leaders, expressing a desire to rejoin
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As many as 40 out of 53 NCP MLAs joined Ajit Pawar when he rebelled against his uncle in June 2023.
However, NCP member Sunil Tatkare clarified that the party is intact. “No MLA from our party will go anywhere. They all are loyal to Ajit Dada Pawar,” he told Hindustan Times.
After Ajit Pawar’s camp’s poor show in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, there is growing speculation that some of its MLAs may return to NCP-SP ahead of the state Assembly polls.
The NCP won only one of the four seats it contested, whereas the NCP-SP won eight of the 10 seats it contested. On being asked if the NCP plans to field all its 41 MLAs in the upcoming Assembly polls, Patil told Indian Express, “This will depend on our survey and the performance of the respective MLAs throughout the five years.
