NCP-Cong-Sena alliance displays its strength with 162 MLAs in attendance

The NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena combine on Monday organised a public parade of their 162 supporting MLAs in a bid to disprove the claims made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Ajit Pawar of having the support of 170 legislators.

The move was announced hours after the leaders of the three parties submitted a letter to Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari claiming that they have the requisite numbers to form government.

The event, at the luxury Grand Hyatt hotel in Mumbai, came barely 12 hours before the scheduled hearing in the Supreme Court on Tuesday morning on the parties' challenge to the new government sworn-in early Saturday morning with Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister and Ajit Pawar as Deputy CM, creating a political upheaval in the state.

Addressing the joint meeting of 162 MLAs of 'Maha Vikas Aghadi', NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that he would personally ensure that none of them loses membership for voting against the BJP during floor test in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

"A misinformation is being spread that Ajit Pawar is the NCP's legislature party leader who would issue a whip to all (NCP) MLAs to vote for the BJP (in floor test). It is being said that whoever defies the whip would lose his membership of the House," Pawar said.

The NCP chief added that he had consulted several constitutional and legal experts and also gone through previous instances on the issue of technicalities.

"I have come to the conclusion that Ajit Pawar, who is removed from his position (as the NCP legislature party leader for joining hands with the BJP in forming a government), has no legal right to issue a whip to MLAs," Pawar said.

"I personally take the responsibility that your membership of the House will not become null and void. People who have acquired power illegally have to be removed now," Pawar said apparently referring to the BJP.

Besides the 162 MLAs of the three 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' partners, top leaders of all three parties including Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Praful Patel, Nawab Malik, and Jitendra Awhad (all Nationalist Congress Party), Uddhav Thackeray, Aditya Thackeray, Eknath Shinde, and Sanjay Raut (all Shiv Sena), Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, Mallikarjuna Kharge and Balasaheb Thorat (Congress) and others were present.

Abu Asim Azmi of the Samajwadi Party was also present at the event.

The Sena and Congress MLAs arrived at the hotel shortly before 7 pm by various buses arranged by their parties. NCP MLAs were shifted there earlier from another hotel.

The public parade, including a joint photo session, came a day after the top leaders of the three parties address 'cross-meetings' of the legislators of each other's parties, again a unique development in politics.

Addressing the legislators Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray asked the BJP to "make way" for the alliance.

While the event was in progress inside the hotel, supporters of these parties gathered outside shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.