Mumbai Congress General Secretary joins Ajit Pawar's NCP ahead of Maharashtra assembly elections

Mumbai Congress General Secretary Javed Shroff has joined the Ajit Pawarled Nationalist Congress Party NCP ahead of the Maharashtra assembly electionsShroff officially joined Ajit Pawars NCP in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and state NCP chief Sunil Tatkare on TuesdayIn a post on X Ajit Pawar said Mumbai Congress Secretary Alhaz Javed R Shroff has joined the Nationalist Congress Party I wholeheartedly welcome him I am confident that following the partys ideology he will significantly contribute to public service pictwittercom9xloiuSjaxmdash Ajit Pawar AjitPawarSpeaks October 15 2024Meanwhile Ajit Pawars Nationalist Congress Party NCP on Tuesday faced a major setback as over 600 party workers and officials from the Pune city unit resigned in of the governors decision to not grant MLC post to Pune City President Deepak Mankar reported ANISupporters of Mankar gathered at the NCP office in the Narayanpeth area of Pune city on Tuesday evening and held a meeting where they announced their resignation This mass resignation includes city vice presidents assembly constituency chiefs various cell heads and party workersThe city unit had demanded Mankars appointment to one of the three MLC seats allocated to the party from the Governors quota However the party chose to renominate those with existing family connections to politicsThe resigning officebearers including city vice presidents assembly constituency chiefs and cell heads also prepared a memorandum to be submitted to party national president and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar expressing disappointment and disillusionment They stated that Mankar had strengthened the party in Pune and deserved the MLC seat and the snub would weaken the party in future reported ANIThe memorandum reads We believed Ajit Pawar would provide justice to party workers However by denying Deepak Mankar the MLC seat our trust has been brokenDatta Sagare Vice President of NCP Pune City said 600 party workers resigned from their posts today in protest after Pune City President Deepak Mankar was denied the MLC post from the governors quota by our top leadership reported ANIWe have resigned from our posts but will remain in the party We are hopeful that Ajit Pawar will give us justice In the next two days Ajit Pawar is expected to come to Pune and we will hand over our resignation to him Today over 600 workers resigned and the number is expected to rise to 2500 Sagare added reported ANINilesh Shinde another party worker stated We wish our leader Deepak Mankar gets a chance to hold a higher post He has been working for the party since 2014 and has been in politics for over 40 years He is capable enough to strengthen the party cadre in Pune but he has always been denied higher positions reported ANIThe resigning officebearers have vowed not to work for the partys alliance partners until Pawar provides a clear assuranceThe Election Commission of India on Tuesday announced that the Maharashtra assembly elections in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase on November 20 and the votes will be counted on November 23On Tuesday seven MLCs were sworn in after the government released a list recommending candidates from the ruling Mahayuti allianceOut of seven swornin MLCs three are from the BJP and two each from Shiv Sena and NCP The NCP nominees include former MLA Chhagan Bhujbals son Pankaj Bhujbal and Idris Naikwadi The Shiv Sena nominees are former MLC Manish Kayande and exLok Sabha MP Hemant Patil The BJP MLCs are its state womens wing chief Chitra Wagh state general secretary Vikrant Patil and spiritual leader of the Banjara community Dharmaguru Babusingh Maharaj RathodA total of 12 posts for MLC have been vacant under the Governors quota since 2021 when Maha Vikas Aghadi was in powerWith inputs from ANI