Maharashtra deputy chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sunetra Pawar on Tuesday convened a meeting of party lawmakers at her official residence amid continuing speculation of friction within the party , people familiar with the matter said.
A message of unity is necessary when there is so much negativity surrounding the party”.
A senior NCP functionary said, “The meeting is important in the backdrop of what is happening in the party.
Rumours of a rift within the NCP began soon after Sunetra Pawar took charge as NCP chief in February and introduced a series of organisational and constitutional changes. The meeting comes days after a delegation of senior party officials including NCP working president Praful Patel and state ministers Chhagan Bhujbal and Hasan Mushrif, traveled to New Delhi to meet with Union home minister Amit Shah. Kokate also insisted that there would be no split in the party as its entire rank and file is with deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar, who succeeded Ajit Pawar as the NCP leader, and her family. Kokate, a family loyalist, refrained from naming any leaders. Among the most contentious was the removal of senior leaders such as Praful Patel as national working president and Sunil Tatkare as Maharashtra state president. She later clarified that the omissions were inadvertent, but the changes were never reversed.
Because they had recently met Shah and had asked the home minister to meet the other party leaders as well, he said the two leaders did not attend Sunday’s meeting.
He added that “such elements” cannot be allowed to ruin the NCP, as he credited Pawar, who died in a plane crash in January, for working tirelessly to build a strong base for the party across Maharashtra.
Earlier reporting noted: Kokate maintained there will be no split in the party as its entire rank and file is with deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar, who succeeded Ajit Pawar as the NCP leader, and her family. Earlier reporting noted: The comments came two days after a group of NCP leaders met Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi, fuelling speculation of turmoil within the party after it failed to win a seat in the Maharashtra legislative council polls. On Monday, NCP spokesperson Umesh Patil dismissed speculation of a rift in the party. Kokate, a former minister who is known to be a Pawar family loyalist, on Tuesday said that the family of late party leader Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash in January, would have the final say in running the party and those opposing its decisions should leave the party. Earlier reporting noted: NCP leader asks those opposing Ajit Pawar’s family to quit party amid rift speculation Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) lawmaker and former minister Manikrao Kokate on Tuesday said the late party leader Ajit Pawar’s family would have the final say, and those opposing its decisions should leave the party.
