03 July,2023 10:45 PM IST | Mumbai | PTI
Pic/Shadab Khan
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Monday evening said he was yet to ascertain whether the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a part of the Shiv Sena-BJP government or is still in the Opposition.
On Sunday, senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the party to become deputy chief minister in the one-year-old Shiv Sena-BJP government, shocking his uncle Sharad Pawar, who founded the outfit 24 years ago after quitting the Congress. Besides him, eight other NCP MLAs, including Chhagan Bhujbal and Hasan
Mushrif, were sworn in as ministers in the Shinde cabinet.
Speaking to reporters here, Narwekar said his office has not yet received any petition mentioning about a split in the party.
ALSO READ
BJP, MVA woo independents as CM race heats up ahead of results
Maharashtra Elections: MVA to form govt in Maharashtra, says Balasaheb Thorat
MVA to house newly-elected MLAs together in Mumbai, says Sanjay Raut
Priyanka Chaturvedi predicts MVA win, says Mahayuti’s rule will end for 25 year
Mahayuti confident of securing 180 seats, says Pune NCP chief
"I am yet to ascertain whether the NCP is a part of the state government or is still in the Opposition bloc. I will go through the details available before me and take a call on it," he said.
Ajit Pawar was the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly before he took oath as deputy CM.
"I have received only one petition from NCP MLA Jayant Patil seeking disqualification of nine MLAs (Ajit Pawar and 8 others who took oath as ministers along with him). There is no written communication from any other leader of the NCP," said the Speaker.
"I have not received any petition mentioning about a split in the party," he stated.
Asked how many NCP MLAs have expressed their support to Ajit Pawar, Narwekar said, "I do not have any information on it because there is no written communication from his side. The party-wise strength in the legislative Assembly still remains unchanged."
The Sharad Pawar-led party has 53 MLAs in the 288-member Assembly.
The Speaker said his office has received several representations from legislators related to recent developments in the NCP.
"We will look into them, study their legality and then only take a decision," he said without elaborating on the nature of representations received by his office.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
