Sharad Pawar to hold key NCP national executive meeting in Delhi

(News Agency)- Amid the ongoing political turmoil in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has called a national executive meeting in Delhi on Thursday. Sharad left for the National Capital on Thursday morning to attend the crucial gathering a day after losing the majority of his legislators to his nephew Ajit Pawar.
The meeting assumes significance as Ajit has staked a claim on the NCP and Pawar will have to be prepared for a long legal battle.Against this backdrop, the national executive committee is expected to take a few decisions to make sure that Ajit fails in taking over the control of the party that was formed by Pawar 24 years ago.
Pawar's daughter and working president Supriya Sule is also present for the meeting.Meanwhile, Ajit is likely to hold talks with chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over portfolio allocations that have been pending for five days now since Ajit was sworn in as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra.
Earlier this morning, Ajit met Union minister Ramdas Athawale and would meet other leaders who are willing to extend their support to him.
Amid the political crisis, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and Ajit Pawar on Wednesday held separate meetings with their MLAs in Mumbai.
Ajit held a meeting with his MLAs at Taj Lands End in Mumbai to reassure them that they had taken the right call by siding with him.
"We have most of the MLAs with us. Many of the MLAs are in touch with us and even those who were present for (Sharad) Pawar Saheb's meeting are ready to come with us," he told his team.
He also asked the legislators to submit the list of development works that were either pending with the state government for approval or have been staying in the last year since the change in government.