The Nationalist Congress Party appointed Jitendra Awhad as Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly after incumbent LoP Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde government as deputy chief minister on Sunday
Talking to reporters, Jayant Patil said the meeting will be held at 1 pm on Wednesday at the Y B Chavan Centre in south Mumbai
Jitendra Awhad said, "I don't see any other reason behind these leaders deciding to join the state government. There was no need to do such a thing. Those leaders could have sat aside. These leaders should not forget the party made them ministers in the past 25 years. Now, they are deserting their leader (83-year-old Sharad Pawar) in his twilight years"
Earlier in the day, Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the party to become the deputy chief minister, while eight other NCP leaders were sworn in as ministers in the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government
Ajit Pawar has the support of more than 40 MLAs and over six MLCs of his party, sources claimed citing a letter submitted to the Raj Bhavan. The party has 53 MLAs and nine MLCs
ADVERTISEMENT
