NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday held that the NCP faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the anti-defection provisions in the Constitution could not be used to stifle internal dissent.
While dismissing disqualification petitions filed by the factions led by Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar against each other’s legislators, the Speaker noted that the Ajit group had “overwhelming legislative majority” of 41 out of 53 party MLAs when it decided to join the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra in July 2023.
Citing last week’s Election Commission’s order recognising Ajit Pawar as leader of the ‘real NCP, ‘ Narwekar rejected petitions seeking disqualification of 41 MLAs who had rebelled against Sharad Pawar in June last year, leading to a split in the party.
Narwekar said the MLAs, who joined Ajit Pawar in rebelling against his uncle and had allied with the BJP and a similar breakaway faction of the Shiv Sena, to form a new state government, could not be disqualified as they constituted the “will of the party”.
“I hold that (the) Ajit Pawar-led NCP is the real political party. Ajit Pawar has the legislative majority with 41 MLAs. This is undisputed,” Narwekar said, adding, “All petitions seeking disqualification are rejected.”
The Supreme Court last month had given Narwekar time till February 15 to decide on disqualification petitions against MLAs affiliated to the Ajit group.