6 min readMumbaiJul 18, 2023 04:55 PM IST
First published on: Jul 9, 2023 at 09:46 PM IST
For the second time in a year, there was a rebellion within the ranks of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, this time between NCP’s uncle and nephew duo–Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar.
The vertical split in the party was seen as a culmination of long-standing discontent among a group of leaders led by Ajit Pawar. When Ajit Pawar was sworn in as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and his eight loyalists MLAs as state ministers, Sharad Pawar expressed faith in the people’s courts, and CM Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Uddhav Thackeray huddled with their respective flock. The battle reached the Election Commission’s doors. Here is a summary of all that happened across Maharashtra’s political landscape between July 3 and 9:
🔴 With the resolve to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development agenda, the Ajit Pawar-led rebellion was viewed by the Opposition as the second split allegedly engineered by the BJP in Maharashtra. For Eknath Shinde, who rubbished resignation rumours, the move was seen as a threat for his party in NDA.
🔴 As Pawar Sr loyalists like Dilip Walse Patil and Sunil Tatkare joined the rulling alliance, what caught the attention of many was the number of rebel NCP MLAs who have Enforcement Directorate cases against them and the run-ins they have had with BJP leaders.
🔴 Sharad Pawar, meanwhile, removed Ajit Pawar and eight rebels MLAs from party membership and named Jitendra Awhad the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly. In response, Ajit Pawar named Sunil Tatkare the state party chief in place of Jayant Patil. What could be the legal road ahead?
🔴 After his nephew was officially sworn in as Deputy CM, Pawar Sr set out to “revive the party“. Zeeshan Shaikh explains why he chose to hold his first rally after the NCP rebellion in Yeola
🔴 A day later, the two NCP factions held rival meetings in Mumbai. While Ajit Pawar’s gathering at Bandra’s MET saw him, Praful Patel and Chhagan Bhujbal seeking Sharad Pawar’s blessings. Ajit urged his uncle to retire and let the young guard take the reins. Here is the full list of the 29 NCP MLAs at the Bandra meeting and the notable points of Ajit’s speech
🔴 At the YB Chavan Centre meet, Sharad Pawar vowed that the party name and symbol will stay with his faction and hit out at his nephew for joining hands with a party that once called the NCP “corrupt”. On knowing Ajit’s statement on his age, Pawar Sr said he was “neither tired nor retired”, while party leader Anil Deshmukh said the “82-year-old lion is alive”.
🔴 Baramati MP Supriya Sule asked how age can be a matter of concern and added that she won’t tolerate comments directed at her father. Opposition party leaders from Congress, Sena (UBT), and MNS termed the induction of NCP legislators as ministers as an unfortunate development for democracy and the Constitution.
🔴 Even as Praful Patel claimed that numbers don’t matter as there is no split in NCP, a senior NCP leader from the Ajit Pawar camp told The Indian Express that the party has already struck a deal for the Lok Sabha polls and will fight from 13-15 seats in the state in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Other important news this week:
- Expressway witnesses three accidents every day, highway hypnosis major reason; public address system at entry points soon
- Mumbai saw spike in monsoon related diseases with June rains
- Paper packets made out of blank pages meant for children to take notes
- FIR against three for balloons with ‘pro-Pakistan’ message
- SCLR Extension: Contractor begins fixing potholes, 4 months after flyover launch
- Mumbai monsoon: Over a dozen vehicles crushed in landslide at Chunabhatti
- Now, foreigners in Maharashtra jails can make video calls to their families
- Maharashtra to provide shoes, socks along with uniforms for children in government schools
- Gokhale bridge girder over railway to be launched by Sept-end
- Twitter user booked for posting ‘objectionable content about Hindus’
Photo of the week
Kharghar’s famous Pandavkhada waterfall in all its monsoon glory. (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar)
News to watch out for next week:
- Four men arrested by the NIA last week in connection with an alleged ISIS module to be produced before court on Monday. The agency may seek their further custody for a probe.
- On Friday, court likely to decide on the CBI plea to close its investigation in the data leak case where the Mumbai police had last year recorded the statement of Devendra Fadnavis.
- MNS chief Raj Thackeray to go on Konkan tour this week to strengthen the party and consolidate support.
- The Bombay High Court to continue hearing pleas by comedian Kunal Kamra and others, who have challenged the amendment Rules that empowers the government to identify “fake news” about it on social media platforms.
- With lake levels reaching 23 percent, BMC to review of the ongoing water cut in Mumbai.
- Mumbai may expect lesser rains this week, compared to last week according to IMD. The weather bureau has also not issued any yellow or orange alert for the city so far, in the days to come and have indicated moderate spell of rains.
News from Mumbai: June 19-25
News from Mumbai: June 12-18
News from Mumbai: June 5 – 11
Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar addresses the gathering at a programme under the 'Shasan Aaplya Dari' intiative in Gadchiroli (left); NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Nashik. (PTI) 
Kharghar’s famous Pandavkhada waterfall in all its monsoon glory. (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar)
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