MUMBAI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray and senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel stressed the three parties are together against the BJP rule in the state even as Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Chief Minister on Saturday.
Pawar and Thackeray addressed a joint press conference while Patel and other Congress leaders addressed a separate press conference. Patel said that as the Congress legislature party was scheduled to meet in the morning on Saturday, none of their leaders could attend the joint press conference with Pawar and Thackeray.
“The governor has asked the BJP to prove its majority on the floor of the house by the end of this month. But, I’m sure they won’t be able to do that. All the three parties shall remain together and stake a claim for government formation after the BJP’s defeat in the house,” Pawar said.
Pawar also expressed the possibility of governor B S Koshyari having been deceived by Ajit Pawar handing over to him the letter the party had prepared in support of the Shiv Sena.
“All parties keep a list of all the elected MLAs with their signatures. Two such letters were taken by Ajit Pawar from the party office. It is likely that one of those letters was submitted by him to the governor. If that has happened, the signatures of the 54 MLAs were not for this government formation. I’m not sure if the Governor was deceived like that. I’m confident that on the day the Governor asks them to show their majority on the floor of the house, they will not be able to do it,” Sharad Pawar said.
Pawar also hinted at disciplinary action against his nephew Ajit for anti-party activities. However, he declined to give any timeline. “We will have to decide that in the party meeting. One person can’t make such decisions,” he said.
Pawar also made it clear that the MLAs who were taken to Raj Bhavan too were taken there by deceit. Two of them Sindkhed Raja MLA Dr Rajndra Shingane and Beed MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar attended Pawar’s press conference and narrated their side of the story. They said that they were invited by Ajit Pawar to Dhananjay Munde’s residence early in the morning from where they were taken to Raj Bhavan.
“We didn’t have any idea as to why and where we were being taken. We were told that some discussions were being held and our presence was needed. Only when we were at Raj Bhavan we realized that something wrong is being done and hence after the swearing-in, we rushed to Sharad Pawar’s residence,” Dr Shingane said at the press conference.
Around 15 NCP MLAs were present at the swearing-in ceremony in the morning. While two of them spoke at Sharad Pawar’s press conference, two more were present there. This leaves only about 10-11 MLAs with Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar said, adding that the MLAs will have to face action under the anti-defection law.
“We had 169 MLAs with us till last evening,” Pawar said.
Thackeray who too was at the press conference lashed out at the BJP. “We are very open. We do things in broad daylight. But, now it seems that along with EVMs, the night games have come into play,” Thackeray said.
Taking a jibe at Fadnavis, Thackeray said, “Instead of I’ll come back (Mi Punha Yein), his new slogan seems to be that I won’t go away ever.”
Thackeray also criticized the BJP over the government formation in Haryana and Bihar. “Were the people’s verdicts honoured in these states?” he asked.
At a separate press conference after his party's meeting, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said this was a black day in the history of Maharashtra and that his party will counter it politically as well as legally.