No question of forming alliance with BJP, says Sharad Pawar
MUMBAI : NCP president Sharad Pawar on Sunday said there was no question of an alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra. He was reacting to his nephew Ajit Pawar’s tweets that he was still with NCP and that the “BJP-NCP alliance” would provide a stable government in the state.
Ajit Pawar’s statement is false and misleading in order to create confusion and false perception among the people,” Sharad Pawar said. “There is no question of forming an alliance with @BJP4Maharashtra. NCP has unanimously decided to ally with @ShivSena & @INCMaharashtra to form the government,” Sharad Pawar tweeted.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar Sunday said he was still with the NCP and Sharad Pawar was the leader. “I am in the NCP and shall always be in the NCP and Sharad Pawar saheb is our leader,” Ajit Pawar tweeted. But NCP chief Sharad Pawar hit back saying Ajit’s statement was misleading and aimed at creating confusion.
The Supreme Court on Sunday directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to produce the letters submitted by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to Maharashtra Governor Bharat Koshyari, claiming support of the MLAs and thereby staking claim to form the government. The top court sought the documents and adjourned the hearing for 10.30 am on Monday.
Meanwhile,the tweets come ahead of a possible floor test in Maharashtra, for which the government needs 40 more MLAs to prove majority. The BJP has 105 MLAs in the 288-member House. Sena and NCP leaders claim four MLAs are with Ajit Pawar.
The NCP MLAs, who are presently holed up in the Renaissance Hotel, will be shifted to the Hyatt near Mumbai airport. Sources say they are being moved because there is too much disturbance at their current location; the Lalit and JW Marriott, where the Sena and the Congress have stashed their MLAs, respectively, are both nearby.
The NCP says it has the support of all its MLAs, around 50 attended a meeting last evening in which Ajit Pawar was pulled down from the post of the legislature party leader. The BJP claims it has the support of 54 MLAs of the NCP.
(Mumbai Bureau Report With Agency Inputs).
