Ajit’s act of siding with BJP indiscipline, he gave MLAs’ attendance sheet to Guv: Sharad Pawar

NCP president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the decision of his nephew Ajit Pawar to join hands with the BJP to form a government in Maharashtra was an act of indiscipline and attracts provisions of the anti-defection law.

Pawar was addressing a joint press conference with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray here.

"Ajit Pawar's decision is an act of indiscipline. No NCP worker is in favour of the NCP-BJP government. NCP MLAs who support the BJP should know this move attracts provisions of anti-defection law," he said.

Whenever elections are held in the constituencies of these legislators, Congress-NCP and Shiv Sena would unitedly defeat them, he added.

He said 54 newly-elected legislators of the NCP had signed a paper along with their names and constituencies for the internal purpose and these signatures may have been misused as the letter of support and submitted to the governor. the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar said that the list of supporting MLAs submitted to Governor B.S. Koshyari by 'rebel' Ajit Pawar was not an official list of the party.

"It was the attendance sheet of MLAs prepared at a party meeting which has been given to the Governor as Ajit Pawar's support letter," Pawar said, endorsing what another senior party leader Nawab Malik said earlier in the day.

"If this is true, the governor has also been misled," Pawar said, adding that the paper may have been taken by Ajit Pawar as the leader of the legislature party.

He said those MLAs, who were taken to the Raj Bhavan for oath-taking without their knowledge, have contacted him and informed how they were misled.

Three such legislators, including Rajendra Shingane from Buldhana and Sandeep Kshirsagar from Beed, were present at the press conference.

They said they were called to party leader Dhananjay Munde's house at 7 am and from there were taken in a car to Raj Bhavan.

The senior Pawar said that the Sena-NCP-Congress alliance was on the verge of forming the government when he learnt of what happened at 7 a.m. on Saturday.

"We have the total support of 169 MLAs, so we (three parties) came together. We have the numbers and were about to form the government. I am surprised how the Governor has done this today," Pawar said.

Pawar said no action would be taken against those who unknowingly went to Raj Bhavan for the swearing-in and were back in the party fold.

NCP legislature party meeting would be held later in the day to elect the new leader.

On the issue of action against Ajit Pawar, the former Union minister said a decision to that effect would be taken by the disciplinary committee.

Uddhav Thackeray said, "Earlier the EVM Khel (game) was going on and now this is new Khel. From here onwards I don't think elections are even needed."

"Everyone knows what Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj did when betrayed and attacked from the back," he said, adding that Sena workers will foil all attempts to poach party MLAs.

With PTI inputs