Together in this fight with Pawar sahib: Uddhav after Ajit dashes Sena hopes

india

Updated: Nov 23, 2019 15:47 IST

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday described his nephew Ajit Pawar’s decision to ally with the BJP as indiscipline and said the Devendra Fadnavis government would not be able to win a floor test in the assembly.

Pawar said that 10 to 11 NCP MLAs have gone with Ajit Pawar who was sworn in as deputy chief minister but that would not help in a confidence vote.

“Ajit Pawar’s decision is against the party line and is indiscipline. No NCP leader or worker is in favour of an NCP-BJP government… We are confident that they will not be able to prove majority on the floor test. They do not have the numbers,” Pawar said at a joint presser with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Ajit Pawar who was unanimously re-elected as the legislature party leader of the NCP at the meeting of the newly elected MLAs on October 30 may now be sacked.

“We have called a meeting of MLAs at 4pm to decide new legislative party leader and on other issues,” Pawar said.

Uddhav Thackeray, who was checkmated by Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, described the developments as a surgical strike that will extract its price.

“This is a surgical strike that has been done in the dead of night on Maharashtra and the people of the state will take revenge,” the Sena boss said.

He also warned the BJP against poaching the Shiv Sena’s MLAs. “They can try and see. Maharashtra is not going to sleep tonight. ....We are together in this fight with Pawar sahib,” he said.

Thackeray, who Pawar had endorsed as chief minister of a Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government, also took a swipe at chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

“I think from now on elections should not be announced and instead of saying ‘I will return’ some people should use Fevicol and sit on chair,” he said.