Sacked independent ministers join NCP

The sacked ministers — Tukaram Dighole, Vijaykumar Gavit, Dilip Sopal, Shivajirao Naik and Anil Deshmukh — were all independent MLAs supporting the Sena-BJP government.

Pawar said the five had been contemplating joining NCP since long and were waiting for the appropriate time.

Former BJP MLA A T Pawar, who had recently resigned from the Narayan Rane ministry, also joined the Nationalist Congress Party today.

Pawar claimed that the five former ministers had also helped the then undivided Congress in Maharashtra during last year’s Lok Sabha polls.

Pawar said the five new entrants to the NCP would be given party candidaturein the polls after taking local party workers into confidence.

He said Nationalist Congress Party had not set an “upper limit” on the seats it would leave for its allies in the ensuing polls in Maharashtra.Referring to the Nationalist Congress Party’s allies Janata Dal, RPI (Athawale group), Samajwadi Party and Communist Party of India, Pawar said, “Communist Party of India (Marxist) will not be a part of the NCP-led front”.

NCP State unit chief Chhagan Bhujbal said preliminary interviews of poll aspirants were being conducted and the party list would be declared in first week of August.

Meanwhile, a senior Nationalist Congress Party leader said that “at least two to three more independent ministers of State in the Rane ministry would join NCP soon”.