I never changed my party, I was in NCP only, says Nawab Malik

Mumbai MLA Nawab Malik confirmed his allegiance to Ajit Pawar-led NCP by using the party's 'clock' symbol in a post on X, ending speculation about his stance.

Mumbai: Anushakti Nagar MLA and former minister Nawab Malik made it clear that he is with deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP. The suspense related to which NCP faction Nawab Malik will be a part of came to an end on Thursday when he used the party’s election symbol ‘clock’ in a congratulatory post on X for Independence Day.

Nawab Malik (Kunal Patil/HT Photo)

Malik, out of the 54 MLAs, was the only MLA who had yet to clear his stance on his side since the split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in June last year.

On Thursday, he posted greetings for Independence Day on his ‘X’ handle (formerly Twitter) where he chose to use the clock symbol allotted to the Ajit Pawar-led party by the election commission and the assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar after the split.

When asked, Malik insisted, “I have never changed my party, I was in the NCP only.” NCP working president Praful Patel also stressed that Malik never left the party. “There is nothing new in it because he has always been a part of the NCP.”

In the past, Malik was seen in the MLA party meeting on July 3, held to discuss NCP’s strategy for the legislative council elections on eleven seats.

BJP has opposed Malik to be part of the ruling alliance. On 7 December, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis penned a letter to his cabinet colleague Ajit Pawar, expressing opposition to Malik’s inclusion in the ruling alliance led by Eknath Shinde. The letter came after Malik, who faces charges in an Enforcement Directorate case, had taken his seat on the treasury benches during the winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur.