Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar has given yet another shocker to the former as besides splitting the party through his revolt, he has also moved to the Election Commission (EC) to stake claim of the NCP, after showing a good strength of MLAs and MPs. In what has become a bad piece of news for Sharad Pawar, most number of MLAs of NCP had showered their support to Ajit Pawar. 

Last Sunday, Ajit Pawar revolted the NCP and joined hands with the BJP alliance, when it has alleged that the saffron party had directed the rebellion against the NCP. After showing support to the Maharashtra BJP alliance, Ajit Pawar had become the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, sharing the baton with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis.  

Days after splitting the NCP, Ajit Pawar had on Wednesday - July 5 convened a party meeting to display his strength. NCP has 53 MLAs in Maharashtra Assembly and according to reports, as many as 35 MLAs from 53 had attended Ajit Pawar's meeting and the event has become a good show of strength from the rebelling leader. Moreover, five of eight NCP MLCs (Member of Legislative Council) had also attended the meeting organized by Ajit Pawar. 

The show of strength from Ajit Pawar had closely aligned with what he said - he claimed that about 40 MLAs of NCP support him. The supporters of Ajit Pawar had asserted that the numbers will increase as more MLAs will come to Ajit Pawar's faction. Notably, by the time when Ajit Pawar had convened a meeting, his uncle disgruntled Sharad Pawar had also organized a meeting with his supporters and while Sharad Pawar's faction had a huge presence of supporters, he was losing the race when it came to the support from the MLAs. 

As the MLAs had defected from the NCP by supporting the BJP alliance, Anant Kalse, the former principal secretary of Maharashtra Legislature had said that Ajit Pawar camp needs the support of at least 36 MLAs to avoid disqualification under the Anti-Defection Law. Speaking at the meeting, Ajit Pawar had taken a personal jibe at Sharad Pawar over his age and urged the senior Pawar to offer his blessings. 

Ajit Pawar said, "Now, the next generation is coming forward. You (Sharad Pawar) give your blessings and if we go wrong, call me out and tell me that I am wrong. We will accept our mistake, rectify it and move forward. Are we not capable of running a government? We are. In Maharashtra politics, among those four to five key leaders, doesn't my name figure, even if it is at the end? Then, why are we not given the blessings? Even at a farmer's home, a son who reaches the age of 25 is told to look after the farm, while the elderly steps back to the role of an adviser. This is the norm". 

By citing that the BJP leaders will retire at 75, Ajit Pawar said that the age of Sharad Pawar is 83. He said, "In BJP, leaders retire at 75. When are you going to stop. Everybody has his innings. The most productive years are from 25 to 75 years." Ajit Pawar went on to say, "For us, Saheb (Sharad Pawar) is a deity and we have deep respect for him." 

Speaking at the meeting organized by Sharad Pawar, his daughter and NCP MP Supriya Sule said, "They called the Nationalist Congress party the 'Naturally Corrupt Party'. But when in need they take help from NCP. BJP is the most corrupt party and its not just me but others as well who are saying this. BJP made allegations about a Rs 70,000 crore scam, bank scam and many more. Someone told me 'NCP Ka ICE ho gya'- ICE stands for Income Tax, CBI and ED". 

Meanwhile, as the tussle between the Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions escalate, Ajit Pawar, after the meeting, has left for a hotel along with NCP MLAs and supporters and they have been camped in the hotel under Pawar's watch to keep the strength intact. Furthermore, Ajit Pawar has taken the fight to next level as, with the support of most of the party MLAs, he has moved to the Election Commission to stake claim to the party's name and symbol in an apparent bid to destroy Sharad Pawar's citadel.