Mumbai, November 23
Hours after his nephew Ajit Pawar was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the legislature wing of the party would elect a new leader later in the evening.
Addressing a press conference here, Sharad Pawar, who was accompanied by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis did not have the numbers to win the vote of confidence in the Maharashtra Assembly.
Pawar also produced three MLAs of the NCP, who accused Ajit of luring them to the Raj Bhavan where they were paraded before Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.
“Ten to 11 MLAs had gone with Ajit Pawar to the Raj Bhavan this morning. Of them three are with me here and the others will soon follow,” Sharad Pawar said.
He added that the MLAs who were still with Ajit Pawar knew that they stood to lose their membership of the state Assembly under the anti-defection law. “All the MLAs who went with Ajit Pawar are in touch with us,” Sharad Pawar said.
The Maratha chieftain pointed out that as leader of the NCP legislature party, Ajit Pawar had a list of signatures of all the party MLAs. “I assume he has submitted the same list to the Governor. I will have to speak to the Governor and find out,” Pawar said.
