HW EXCLUSIVE: Ajit Pawar Faction Reiterates NCP Was Run In A Dictatorial Fashion Where Sharad Pawar Conducted Party Affairs At His Whims & Fancies

Heated arguments between the Sharad Pawar-led faction and Ajit Pawar-led group of NCPs are expected during the disqualification petition hearing to be conducted by the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar from January 23.

Ajit Pawar faction, in its filing to the Maharashtra Legislature Secretariat, has reiterated its claim that the Nationalist Congress Party was being run in a dictatorial fashion where Sharad Pawar conducted the party’s affairs at his own whims and fancies and no other leader in the party was allowed to have anyway as to the affairs of the party. The party was being run and administered by Sharad Pawar de hors the provisions of the party Constitution. Even the claim of Sharad Pawar to the national presidency of the party is based on an alleged election that was never conducted. The said claim is wholly untenable inasmuch as no election was held, though it is alleged by Sharad Pawar to have been held.

The Ajit Pawar faction state president Sunil Tatkare, in the affidavit on the disqualification petition filed by the Sharad Pawar group, further said that the alleged organisational elections allegedly held in 2018 and 2022, as alleged in the pleadings made in the present petition and the documents filed, were in fact never held. ‘’The respondents (Ajit Pawar and others) did not admit the correctness of the contents of the said documents. The claim that the organisation elections were held in ‘’fallacious’’ as there is nothing to show that any delegates attended such conventions or to show that the organisational elections were as per the NCP Constitution or Rules,’’ he added.

Tatkare further submitted that the State Presidents and all the committees, such as the National Committee and the Working Committee, were to be elected. However, Sharad Pawar has, in fact, nominated all the state Presidents in his alleged capacity of President. ‘’I said that the party was being run in a manner where only one person, Sharad Pawar, and some of his handpicked aides, were making all the decisions, including that of nominating persons to various committees which were, in fact, to be constituted by way of the electoral college,’’ he said.

However, Sharad Pawar-led faction state president Jayant Patil, in his affidavit, argued that the National President’s election was held in 2018 again, and Sharad Pawar was re-elected. Further, on September 1, 2022, Sharad Pawar was reelected unopposed as the National Party President for the NCP, and his nomination form had the signatures of Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal and other MLAs of the NCP. ‘’These signatures were proof of the fact that the said MLAs were standing as nominees for Sharad Pawar contesting the elections to the National Party President. On September 1, 2022, there was no other candidate who stood against Sharad Pawar in the contest for the National Party President of NCP. Hence, the election results were announced immediately, and Sharad Pawar was declared victorious. I repeat, objection or grievance was raised by any MLA, MLC, MP or member of the NCP against the said election,’’ he said.

Furthermore, Patil has raised question marks over the election of Ajit Pawar as the National President of NCP on June 30, 2023, saying that ‘’Ajit Pawar’s election supported by the purported undated letter/resolution is the first and the foremost act/conduct of the Respondents which amounts to voluntarily giving up membership of the party. The very fact that Ajit Pawar claims to have been elected to the post of National Party President implies that there is a substitution, replacement or displacement of the individual holding the said post but fails to provide proof of any constitutional process that was followed in conducting such an exercise. In fact, not even a notice or any announcement was made in such regard, either publicly or within the NCP. Hence, the purported act of election of Ajit Pawar on June 30, 2023, while absolutely dehors the party Constitution completely untenable in law, in an act which is tantamount to voluntarily giving up membership of NCP and hence is liable to be disqualified for this very act.’’

According to Patil, in fact, all actions subsequent to June 30, 2023, bear no consequence and only contribute to the further committal of anti-party activities of the Respondents. ‘’To this, the purported National Convention held on July 5, 2023, upon which reliance has been placed to ratify Ajit Pawar’s election/selection on June 30, 2023, bears evidence of the fact that the entire process was illegal. Since the purported election of Ajit Pawar as the National President on June 30, 2023, was incapable of any ratification, the subsequent National Convention held on July 5, 2023, is actually an admission that the June 30, 2023 election/selection was insufficient,’’ he said.

Patil said that the oath taken by Ajit Pawar and other legislators as ministers in the BJP-led government was done without providing any intimation to the official leadership of the NCP, the organisational wing of NCP, the national office bearers of the NCP and without even seeking permission of the National Party President namely Sharad Pawar. Furthermore, NCP’s National Party President advised me to remove Anil Patil (who was among the nine to take the oath) as the Whip of the NCP. Even at this moment, neither Ajit Pawar nor anyone in the NCP claimed that Ajit Pawar had been elected as the National Party President of NCP.

In view of the resolution passed by the State Discipline Committee and the illegal and unlawful conduct of Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs, Jayant Patil was constrained to file  Disqualification Petition against 9 MLAs under Rule 6 of the Members of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on the ground of Defection) Rules, 1986 seeking their disqualification in terms of Para 2 (1) (A) of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India, said Patil in his affidavit.