Sharad Pawar-led NCP issues whip to all MLAs asking them to attend meeting in Mumbai

The rival group led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has also summoned a separate gathering of party legislators here. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Sharad Pawar, has issued a whip to all MLAs requesting them to remain present for a crucial meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The one-line whip issued on Tuesday by Jitendra Awhad, chief whip of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, said the meeting has been called by Sharad Pawar at 1 pm at Y B Chavan Centre on July 5, and the presence of all MLAs is mandatory.

Pawar senior named Awhad as chief whip after nephew Ajit Pawar joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government with eight other MLAs on Sunday. The Ajit Pawar camp also issued a notice on Tuesday to all current and former legislators, parliamentarians, office-bearers, working committee members and others, asking them to attend a meeting convened by Sunil Tatkare, the Maharashtra unit president appointed by the group, at the MET institute's premises in suburban Bandra on Wednesday.

NCP working president Praful Patel, who was sacked from the party by Sharad Pawar, on Monday appointed Ajit Pawar as leader of the NCP legislature party, while Anil Bhaidas Patil, who took oath as a minister on Sunday, will continue to be the party whip in the Assembly.