“More leaders will come,” says Maha LoP Jitendra Awhad ahead of meeting called by Sharad Pawar

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 5 (ANI): Newly appointed Maharashtra Leader of Opposition and National Congress Party (NCP) leader Jitendra Awhad expressed his confidence in the strength of the Sharad Pawar Shiv Sena faction and said that more leaders will come at the meeting scheduled later today.

Jitendra Awhad reached YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai to attend the meeting called by the NCP Chief in an apparent show of strength.
Talking to the reporters, he said, “We will see what happens at 1 PM. More leaders will come”.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has also called on a separate meeting at the Mumbai Education Trust Bandra on Wednesday.

Supporters of NCP chief Sharad Pawar have gathered outside YB Chavan Centre ahead of the meeting called by the party chief.

Sharad Pawar loyalists raise slogans in his support as leaders of his faction of NCP arrive at YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai, for the party’s meeting.

NCP working president and MP, Supriya Sule and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh and NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader Jayant Patil also reached YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai.

NCP suffered a split on Sunday with Ajit Pawar joining the Eknath Shinde-BJP government along with eight other MLAs.

NCP led by Sharad Pawar has moved a disqualification petition against the nine MLAs to Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar.

Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal along with Dilip Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Mundo, Dharmaraobaba Atram, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode and Anil Patil joined Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis Maharashtra government on Sunday.

Sharad Pawar has removed his close aide Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare from the party for “anti-party activities”.Praful Patel, a Rajya Sabha MP, has been a close associate of Pawar and was appointed working president of NCP last month. He was a minister in the Congress-led UPA government along with Pawar.

Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule had written to him for action against the two MPs.