NCP crisis deepens as rival groups hold parallel meetings in Mumbai in show of strength

The NCP led by Sharad Pawar is holding a meeting of its members at YB Chavan Auditorium in Mumbai while Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is at a meeting of NCP MPs, MLAs, MLCs, district heads and state delegates at Mumbai Education Trust (MET) Bandra.

The meeting at YB Chavan Auditorium has a picture of Sharad Pawar on the stage. The group led by Ajit Pawar has placed picture of Sharad Pawar along with their leaders and has also prominently displayed the party''s election symbol ''clock''.

The meetings came after the two factions announced crucial appointments to assert their control over the party.

The NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar is taking affidavits from party workers to show their allegiance at MET Bandra.

Sharad Pawar loyalists raised slogans in his support at YB Chavan Centre.

The crisis in Nationalist Congress Party has been triggered by Ajit Pawar switching sides on Sunday and joining the Eknath Shinde-BJP government as Deputy Chief Minister. Eighth other NCP MLAs took oath on Sunday with Pawar as ministers.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar has moved a disqualification petition against the nine MLAs to Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar.

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

Sharad Pawar has removed his close aide Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare from the party for "anti-party activities".

"Your actions of supporting Ajit Pawar and the eight other MLAs, who have sworn oath as Ministers in violation of the party''s direction and mandate, ex-facie amount to anti-party activities and that you deemed to have voluntarily left the membership of Nationalist Congress Party," Pawar said in a communication which was also sent to the two party MPs.

"I formally remove your names from the Membership Register of the Party in view of your actions of voluntarily giving up membership of the Nationalist Congress Party," it said.The communication said the action of MPs, "in a surreptitious manner, without the knowledge or consent of the party president, amounts to the desertion of the party, which in turn invites disqualification from primary membership".

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. (ANI)