Sharad Pawar cracks the whip, sacks Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare from NCP for anti-party activities

Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Monday announced the sacking of party MPs Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare for anti-party activities. The two leaders attended the oath ceremony of Sharad Pawar’s nephew and rebel Ajit Pawar as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister on Sunday.

“I, as the National President, Nationalist Congress Party hereby order removal of the names of Shri Sunil Tatkare and Shri Praful Patel from the Register of Members of NCP Party for anti-party activities,” Pawar said in a tweet on Monday evening, a day after nine rebel NCP MLAs joined the NDA government in Maharashtra.

Also Read: EXPLAINED: What is anti-defection law and can Ajit Pawar camp circumvent it?

In a move apparently aimed at sending a stern message to those supporting party leader Ajit Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Monday removed three party leaders for attending the oath ceremony on Sunday.

The leaders who have been expelled by the party include Mumbai divisional NCP chief Narendra Rathod, Akola city district chief Vijay Deshmukh and state minister Shivajirao Garje.

The action comes a day after the disciplinary committee of the NCP recommended the disqualification of the nine MLAs who crossed over to the NDA and took oath as ministers in the BJP-Sena government.

Also Read: NCP moves disqualification petition against nine MLAs including Ajit Pawar

“These actions of the 9 MLAS call for immediate disqualification… if allowed to continue as members, there is a very real likelihood that they will continue to try and undermine the interests of the party,” the NCP’s discipline committee said in a statement.

In a drastic turn of events in the NCP on Sunday, Ajit Pawar and eight other senior party leaders went ahead and joined the Maharashtra government. Pawar was sworn-in as the Deputy CM, his third stint at the post since 2019.

While Ajit Pawar defended the leaders’ decision to ally with the BJP, stating that the party had allied with the Shiv Sena as well, Sharad Pawar called his nephew’s action a “robbery”.

On Sunday, Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil said that the party has moved a disqualification petition with the Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar. Ajit Pawar needs the backing of at least 36 of the 53 MLAs of the NCP in order to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law.