The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has started an oath-taking campaign in Pune to stop its leaders from leaving the party after witnessing an increasing number of desertions ahead of the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra.
Three prominent NCP legislators - Shivendra Raje Bhosale (Satara), Sandeep Naik (Airoli) and Vaibhav Pichad (Akole) - quit and joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with the party’s former state women’s wing president Chitra Wagh last month.
The NCP’s youth wing conducted an oath-taking ceremony on Thursday in Warje in the presence of Dr Amol Kolhe, the member of Parliament from Shirur. At least 250 party workers took the oath.
“The party workers are expressing faith in the leadership of Sharad Pawar. Members would remain with the party and help in making the party victorious in the future,” NCP spokesperson Ankush Kakade said.
NCP leader Parth Pawar and the party’s city unit president Chetan Tupe were also present at the event.
Party chief Sharad Pawar, who was on his Satara district tour on Thursday, extended his best wishes to those in the party “who have other ideas (of desertion) on their minds”.
{{/usCountry}}Party chief Sharad Pawar, who was on his Satara district tour on Thursday, extended his best wishes to those in the party “who have other ideas (of desertion) on their minds”.
{{/usCountry}}“Such situations arise in politics sometimes and I have the experience of dealing with it. The NCP MLAs, who switched allegiance to the BJP-Shiv Sena, alleged that they were unable to carry out development works while being on the opposition benches. This clearly shows that the ruling parties are functioning with a vendetta,” he said.
And, this is what Pawar had to say when journalists asked how many more leaders will quit the NCP.
“I am clueless about these developments. Party workers who follow the ideology of late deputy prime minister and first Maharashtra chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan, a Congress stalwart who hailed from Satara, will not make such a move,” Pawar, said.
Pawar said he was not worried about the NCP’s prospects in Satara in the assembly election due in September-October after Bhosale’s decision to jump the ship.
“I have received three applications (from candidates seeking the party’s poll tickets) from the Satara assembly segment. So, I am not concerned about (falling short of) candidates. The party will definitely retain the seat,” Pawar said.