Ajit Pawar News LIVE: NCP Moves Disqualification Petition Against New Maha Dy CM, 8 MLAs; Sharad Pawar ‘Credits’ PM Modi for Nephew’s Move – News18

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Sharad Pawar.

NCP, which was founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999 suffered a vertical split on Sunday after his nephew Ajit Pawar broke ranks and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government as deputy chief minister. Eight other NCP MLAs, including staunch Sharad Pawar loyalists like Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil, joined the mutiny and were made ministers in Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led government.

Patil said these MLAs of the NCP “cannot be called traitors as their betrayal has not yet been proved”. “Many are in touch with us”, he said.

Meanwhile, unfazed by the ‘split’ in NCP’s Silver Jubilee year, its Founder-President Sharad Pawar took the in-house ‘gaddari’ by his nephew and new Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in his stride.

Indicating that he may be ‘down but not out’, Pawar, 83, declared that notwithstanding the split engineered by his over-ambitious nephew, he would again rebuild the party from scratch.

Asked that henceforth, “who could be the most reliable face of the party”, without batting an eyelid, Sharad Pawar raised his right hand and quipped: “Sharad Pawar!”

“Credit PM Modi for this. There was unrest in some leaders who were facing cased and hence this move was made,” he said.

Meanwhile, angry workers in south Mumbai smeared black paint on all the ‘defectors’ who left the party on Sunday on a huge poster which had pictures of several top NCP leaders.