Ajit Pawar thrusts, Sharad Pawar cuts

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday said he will remain in the NCP and that Sharad Pawar is still his leader but maintained that only an NCPBJP alliance can give a stable government for a full five yearsThe twisty statement his first since he deserted his party came on a day the BJP redoubled its efforts to poach MLAs from the three opposition alliance partiesAjit Pawar started his statement on social media with a response to PM Narendra Modis congratulatory tweet on Saturday Thank you Hon Prime Minister narendramodi ji We will ensure a stable Government that will work hard for the welfare of the people of Maharashtra he tweeted before sending messages to NCP leaders who tried convincing the rebel to withdraw his decisionAjit Pawar was removed as the leader of legislative party leader Saturday night so that he cant issue a whip to MLAs to vote in favour of CM Devendra Fadnavis But a counterargument said that Ajits authority of the legislative leader remains I am in the NCP and shall always be in the NCP and PawarSpeaks Saheb is our leader he tweeted and added in the next Our BJPNCP alliance shall provide a stable Government in Maharashtra for the next five years which will work sincerely for the welfare of the State and its peopleHe also said there was absolutely no need to worry and all was well However a little patience is required Thank you very much for all your support he said Insiders said Ajit Pawars statements were a calculated move to safeguard his legal status in the party NCP on Sunday countered his move of handing a letter of support of 54 MLAs in the Supreme Court by submitting signatures of 41 MLAs it says are behind Sharad Pawar The triparty alliance of NCP Congress and Shiv Sena also asked the apex court for immediate relief and sought a floor test on the lines of a verdict in a similar case in Karnataka recently The Supreme Court asked the state government to furnish relevant documents on Monday morningThe BJP had failed in Karnataka in its first attempt but succeeded a year later in cobbling together the numbers when the other opposition coalition failed Ajit Pawars statements were also seen as an effort to make the elder Pawar appear complicit in the nephews decision to side with the BJP The NCP hasnt expelled Ajit Pawar because that would have freed him of the clauses of the antidefection laws without losing his membership in the House Sharad Pawar thwarted Ajits designs by sending out a rebuttal He tweeted There is no question of forming an alliance with BJP4MaharashtraStrongmen deployedNCP has unanimously decided to ally with ShivSena amp INCMaharashtra to form the government Shri Ajit Pawars statement is false and misleading in order to create confusion and false perception among the people The BJP held a meeting of its MLAs on Sunday and passed a resolution to thank Ajit Pawar and assured a stable government However mustering 145 MLAs remained a concern for the BJP and Ajit Pawar who had promised the national party a huge chunk if not all of NCPs MLAs The return of several NCP legislators to the mother ship has dented Ajit Pawars calculationsIt is under these circumstances that word started spreading that the BJP has entrusted four resourceful heavyweights see box to poach MLAs from other parties even as the Sena NCP and Congress have tightly secured their respective flocks The three parties are coordinating closely and helping each other to prevent any defection Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has appointed his leaders who lead the hotel workers unions to keep watch on properties The union leaders have a wide network that can repulse any attacksCongress leader Ashok Chavan confirmed there were attempts to woo his partys MLAs Our MLAs are getting calls Mediators are at work but we are prepared to defeat any such attempt he said The Sena has kept its MLAs at The Lalit Congress is at JW Marriott and NCP is hosting its pack at Renaissance Thackeray visited NCP and Sena MLAs on Sunday and also kept in touch with Congress legislators Sharad Pawar and Thackeray addressed their MLAs together NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said they had the strength to defeat Fadnavis on the floorThe Ferocious FourNarayan RaneThe Former Sena CM and Congress leader and now BJP Rajya Sabha MP is no stranger to poaching having attempted a coup 17 years ago to bring down the Vilasrao Deshmukh government With his good contacts in the Sena and Congress he is one of the few who can take the Sena leaders head on When Presidents rule was imposed on November 12 Rane had declared that he would whatever it takes to form a BJP government It is now clear that it was no empty threatRadhakrishna VikhePatilAnother ex Sena and Congress hand VikhePatil enjoys a good rapport with leaders from both parties He joined the BJP just ahead of Assembly polls and a situation like the current one provides him a great opportunity to prove his usefulness to his new mastersGanesh NaikThis ones a SenaNCP alumnus and another major opposition rebel who joined the BJP just ahead of the Assembly polls and successfully became an MLA As resourceful as the other leaders in this list he is expected to use his goodwill of which he has a lot especially in the MMR regionBabanrao PachputeFormer state president of NCP and exminister can get through to several of his former colleagues piercing the triparty alliances defense shield Unlike the others on this list he has been in the BJP for six years nowCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates