Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar claimed that he does not extend his support to Ajit Pawar and the other MLAs who joined Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government on Sunday. He also said that he was not worried about what happened and raised his hand on being asked about the reliable face of the party, saying "Sharad Pawar".

The statement came after senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar was sworn-in as the Deputy Chief Minister, alongside 8 other NCP MLAs, in the presence of Eknath Shinde in the Raj Bhavan.

The move is expected to bring major shift in the political landscape of Maharashtra. However, NCP chief says that it is not a new thing. "The party I was leading in 1980 had 58 MLAs, later all left and only 6 MLAs left, but I strengthened the numbers and those who left me lost in their constituencies," Pawar said, adding that the rebel MLAs do not have his support.

Furious over the move, the supporters of NCP are staging multiple protests burning pictures of the rebel MLAs. They also smeared black ink on the posters of party leaders who joined the NDA government today.

#WATCH | Mumbai: NCP supporters smear black ink on the posters of party leaders who joined the NDA government today. pic.twitter.com/JOW74kSCVj

— ANI (@ANI) July 2, 2023

"I am receiving several calls from a lot of people, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, WB CM Mamata Banerjee and others have called me. I am not worried about whatever happened today. Tomorrow, I will take the blessings of YB Chavan (former Maharashtra CM) and will hold a public meeting," he further said.

Hitting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling NCP a corrupt party, Pawar said sarcastically that the recent move shows PM Modi has given a clean chit to NCP and all the charges against the said MLAs have been cleared.

"Two days ago the PM had said about NCP... He had said two things in his statement that NCP is a finished party. He mentioned irrigation complaint and allegations of corruption. I am happy that some of my colleagues have taken oath. From this (joining the NDA government) it is clear that all the charges have been cleared. I am thankful to him," he said. "A new picture will be released in next 2-3 days and people of Maharashtra will get to know the reality," Pawar added.

The NCP chief has appointed Jitendra Ahwad next leader of opposition replacing Ajit Pawar and said that the party will soon sit with Congress and Uddhav Thackeray to access the situation. "In the next two-three days, we will sit with Congress and Uddhav Thackeray to access the situation. Our main strength is the common people, they have elected us," he said.

Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister for the second time in four years. The move comes just days after Pawar had publically expressed his desire to step down as Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly.

As the sources told PTI, Ajit has the backing of 40 NCP MLAs and 6 NCP MLCs. Other NCP leaders who took oath were Dilip Walse Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal, Hassan Mushrif, Dharmarao Baba Atram, Aditi Sunil Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, Anil Patil and Dhananjay Munde.

With the recent development, the state will have two deputy chief ministers — Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

First Published:Jul 2, 2023 6:16 PM IST