Ajit Pawar's Entry Triggers Murmurs Of Discontent Among Sena MLAs

Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) leader Sanjay Shirsat said that some sena leaders are upset over Ajit Pawar switching side and joining Eknath Shinde-BJP government

New Delh: In a sign of disquiet in the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) over NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar joining the Maharashtra government, its leader leader Sanjay Shirsat on Wednesday said that all party leaders were not happy over the development and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will decide the course of action now. The remarks of Sanjay Shirsat have come amid a political crisis in Nationalist Congress Party following Ajit Pawar switching sides on Sunday and joining Eknath Shinde-BJP government as Deputy Chief Ministers.

Eighth other NCP MLAs took oath on Sunday with Pawar as ministers. Sanjay Shirsat said after the Ajit Pawar group joined the government, some people in their group "were upset because some of our leaders will not get their desired position".

"In politics when our rival gang wants to join us, we have to take them in and that is what BJP did. After NCP joined us, people in our group were upset because some of our leaders will not get their desired position. It is not true that all our leaders are happy with NCP joining us," he said.

Shirsat said they have informed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis "and they will have to resolve this issue". He alleged that Sharad Pawar used to run the government when Uddhav Thackeray was the Chief Minister of the MVA government. Uddhav Thackeray now heads the rival faction of Shiv Sena.

"We were always against NCP and even today we are against Sharad Pawar. Udhhav Thackeray was used by Sharad Pawar as the CM. NCP (Sharad Pawar) used to run the government when Uddhav was the CM... Eknath Shinde will decide the course of action now," Shirsat said.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar has moved a disqualification petition against the nine MLAs to Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar.

Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal along with Dilip Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Mundo, Dharmaraobaba Atram, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode and Anil Patil joined Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis Maharashtra government on Sunday. Sharad Pawar has removed his close aide Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare from the party for "anti-party activities".

"Your actions of supporting Ajit Pawar and the eight other MLAs, who have sworn oath as Ministers in violation of the party's direction and mandate, ex-facie amount to anti-party activities and that you deemed to have voluntarily left the membership of Nationalist Congress Party," Pawar said in a communication which was also sent to the two party MPs.

"I formally remove your names from the Membership Register of the Party in view of your actions of voluntarily giving up membership of the Nationalist Congress Party," it said. The communication said the action of MPs, "in a surreptitious manner, without the knowledge or consent of the party president, amounts to the desertion of the party, which in turn invites disqualification from primary membership".

Praful Patel, a Rajya Sabha MP, has been a close associate of Pawar and was appointed working president of NCP last month. He was a minister in the Congress-led UPA government along with Pawar. Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule had written to him for action against the two MPs.