MUMBAI: Anil Patil, the chief whip of the Ajit Pawar group of NCP, has submitted an affidavit before Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who is currently hearing disqualification petitions filed by rival factions of NCP, saying that the election of Sharad Pawar as NCP president was illegal and not in accordance with the party constitution.
An NCP legislator from Jalgaon, Anil Patil is relief and rehabilitation minister in the Eknath Shinde government.
Patil has filed separate petitions before the Speaker for disqualification of 10 legislators of the Sharad Pawar faction for anti-party activities, while state NCP president of the Sharad Pawar group Jayant Patil has filed 40 petitions for disqualification of the Ajit Pawar-led MLAs for anti-party activities.
In his strongly-worded affidavit, Anil Patil has submitted that the party was being run and administered by Sharad Pawar “dehors the provisions of the party constitution.”
“Even the claim of Sharad Pawar to the national presidentship of the party is based on an alleged election, which was never conducted. The said claim is wholly untenable in as much as no election was held though it is alleged by the Sharad Pawar group to have been held,” Patil stated.
Patil alleged that the party organization was being run in a dictatorial fashion, where Sharad Pawar conducted the party affairs according to his his own whims and fancies and no other leader in the party was allowed to have any say in the affairs of the party.
Further, Patil stated that the state presidents and all the committees, including the national committee and working committee were to be elected, but Sharad Pawar has in fact nominated all the state presidents in his “alleged capacity” as president.
According to records, Anil PAtil said, Ajit Pawar was elected NCP president on June 30 last year and the Election Commission of India was accordingly informed.