NCP vs NCP: Sharad Pawar, Ajit camps call separate meetings
What's the story
The rival factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar have called separate party meetings in Mumbai on Wednesday. The Sharad camp will hold the meeting at the YB Chavan Center in south Mumbai at 1:00pm while the Ajit faction will gather at the Mumbai Education Trust (MET) premises near Bandra at 11:00am.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Both camps are engaged in a tug of war to stake their claim over the party after Ajit and the eight MLAs supporting him switched over from the opposition to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra. While both factions are making varying claims about the number of MLAs supporting them, the meetings are expected to serve as a reality check.
Information
Assembly speaker to decide on NCP's official representation
Jitendra Awhad, the chief whip of the Sharad faction, has called party lawmakers and office-bearers for the meeting. Separately, Anil Patil, the chief whip of Ajit's camp, has also promulgated the meeting. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar will decide on the NCP's official representation.
Defection
Ajit needs 36 MLAs' support to avoid anti-defection law
Ajit, who recently became Maharashtra's deputy chief minister, claims to enjoy the support of all 53 MLAs of the NCP. However, the Sharad camp refutes his claim, saying that only 13 MLAs support him. To avoid the provisions of the anti-defection law, Ajit needs the support of at least two-thirds of the total MLAs of the NCP—36 of 53 MLAs.
Information
Both camps seek disqualification of other
Furthermore, both factions have filed disqualification petitions against each other. While Sharad's camp filed a disqualification petition against Ajit and the MLAs sworn in as ministers, the latter's camp sought the disqualification of Jayant Patil and Awhad, whom Sharad nominated as the Leader of Opposition.