In the wake of intense power struggle within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) between rival factions led by Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar, the former, along with fellow Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, arrived at Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's official residence, 'Varsha', in Mumbai for a meeting on Monday night.
Meanwhile, NCP MLA from Wai constituency in Maharashtra’s Satara district, Makarand Patil, said he has joined the camp led by senior party leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Patil said he decided to join the Ajit Pawar camp to save two sugar factories in his constituency which are in financial crisis and in the hope of bringing development and resolving tourism-related issues in Wai. Patil was present during NCP founder Sharad Pawar’s visit to Karad city, a day after Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government. After joining the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government, the Ajit Pawar camp has staked the claim to the NCP name and symbol.Ajit Pawar loyalists, including Praful Patel, are insisting that they have the support of "40 plus" out of the 53 MLAs of NCP.