According to NCP leader Praful Patel, Ajit Pawar will be participating in the NDA meeting scheduled in Delhi. "Ajit Pawar and I will both attend the NDA meeting in Delhi tomorrow," stated Patel as reported by ANI.
Ajit Pawar on Friday had announced that he would attend, along with the party's working president Praful Patel, a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) convened by Prime Minister Modi in the national capital on July 18.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and former CM Chandrababu Naidu will also attend the NDA meeting at the Ashoka Hotel on Tuesday. Both the parties are ex-alliance partners of the NDA.
Patel speaks on second meeting with Sharad Pawar in two days
Praful Patel, speaking to reporters about their meeting with estranged party founder Sharad Pawar, said, "Today, Ajit Pawar, Sunil Tatkare and I met Sharad Pawar at YB Chavan Centre. We again requested him to keep NCP united, and he listened to us but did not say anything on it."
Ajit Pawar and several ministers from his faction held a meeting with Sharad Pawar on Sunday as well. This marked the first encounter between the uncle and nephew since Ajit's revolt and subsequent inclusion in the Eknath Shinde government on July 2.
After the meeting, Praful Patel spoke to the press, stating that Sharad Pawar is an "idol to us" and they sought his blessings by having the meeting.
"We requested him (Sharad Pawar) to keep the NCP united. We also asked him to think about our request over the next some days and guide us. He listened to us quietly but said nothing," Patel had said.
In the meantime, Sharad Pawar has confirmed his participation in the Opposition meeting scheduled in Bengaluru on July 18. However, he was absent on the first day of the meeting held on Monday.
Split NCP main attraction in Monsoon sesssion of Maha assembly
The monsoon session of the Maharashtra Assembly commenced on Monday, during which 27 out of the 53 NCP MLAs were not present.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, along with Cabinet ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, Dhananjay Munde, Anil Patil, and Dharmarao Atram, sat with the ruling party, as per PTI's report.
Other MLAs who showed their support to Ajit Pawar and were present in the House included Babanrao Shinde, Indranil Naik, Prakash Solankhe, Kiran Lahamate, Sunil Shelke, and Saroj Ahire.
On the Opposition side, legislators Jayant Patil, Balasaheb Patil, Prajakt Tanpure, Sunil Bhusara, Mansing Pawar, Suman Patil, Rohit Pawar, Rajesh Tope, Ashok Pawar, and Anil Deshmukh represented the Sharad Pawar faction.
