INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
MUMBAI: Addressing press conference after joining the Shinde government, Ajit Pawar staked claim to the NCP party and its symbol
"The NCP has decided to join the government
All MLAs and MPs are with us and there is no need to discuss numbers," he said
He said all future polls would be fought in alliance with BJP and Shiv Sena
"Don't worry, We are the NCP..
We will contest all future polls under the NCP name and symbol," he said
He was flanked by ex-Union minister Praful Patel and ex-deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal who had appealed to Sharad Pawar not to quit as NCP chief
in May.Ajit said that he had resigned as the leader of opposition in the assembly on Friday
"I had made my stand clear on the party's foundation day." At the event, Ajit had said he wanted to step down from the post in favour of a
took the step for the good of the state and the country
India needs a strong leadership
government to scuttle cases against them by the Central agencies
The important case against me is over
Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly are also due next year
After the 2019 assembly polls, the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena had snapped ties with BJP
Before the MVA government comprising Sena, NCP and Congress could be formed, Fadnavis and Ajit were sworn in as CM and deputy CM
respectively in a hush-hush early-morning ceremony, but their government lasted only 80 hours.
