Maharashtra monsoon session: Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction seeks sitting arrangement in Opposition benches

Pic/PTI

Chief whip of Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction Jitendra Awhad has written to the Maharashtra Assembly speaker seeking separate sitting arrangement for members of the Ajit Pawar camp and the rest of MLAs of the party for the legislature session beginning Monday, reported news agency PTI.

According to PTI, in a letter addressed to Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Sunday, Jitendra Awhad said except for the nine MLAs- including Ajit Pawar- who have joined the government, the NCP is part of the opposition.

"Except for the nine MLAs who were sworn in, the sitting arrangement for others should be made separately. The NCP is in the opposition and we want to sit in the opposition," Awhad said, reported PTI.

Rahul Narwekar had recently said there was no clear distinction between who is in power and who is not in the case of the Nationalist Congress Party.

"There will be a lot of deliberations and arguments over how to decide who represents the actual NCP," Narwekar had said.

When asked about Shiv Sena which had also witnessed a similar revolt last year, Narwekar said, "The Election Commission of India (ECI) has given its verdict hence Shiv Sena's issue is solved for me. However, the NCP has written a letter to the ECI, but I do not have any update from its office."

Before Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government earlier this month, the NCP had 53 MLAs in the 288-member Assembly.

In the first meeting held by Ajit Pawar in Mumbai post the split in the party, 35 MLAs of NCP and five of the eight MLCs had marked their presence.

However, the exact number of MLAs backing the Ajit Pawar camp is not known.

Meanwhile, The Opposition camp including Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and the NCP (Sharad Pawar group) on Sunday boycotted the customary tea party hosted by the Maharashtra government on the eve of the state legislature's monsoon session, starting Monday.

The tea party was attended by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and other Cabinet colleagues, including newly-inducted Deputy CM Ajit Pawar of NCP and ministers from his camp.

Earlier in the day, a meeting was organised by the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve, who belongs to Shiv Sena (UBT), which was attended by Congress legislative party leader Balasaheb Thorat and Nationalist Congress Party's Jayant Patil.

Notably, the post of the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly is lying vacant after incumbent Ajit Pawar of NCP resigned recently and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government as Deputy Chief Minister. Eight other MLAs of Ajit Pawar's camp were sworn in as ministers.

(With inputs from PTI)