Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and the party’s working president Supriya Sule on Thursday rejected claims that MPs from the party were planning to switch sides, asserting that the party remained
united.
The remarks came after NCP MLA Dharmarao Atram claimed that five of the party’s eight Lok Sabha MPs were likely to join the rival Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar by December.
Responding to the claim, Sharad Pawar said, “Not a single MP or MLA will defect.”
Sule, the Lok Sabha MP from Baramati, also dismissed the speculation, saying all eight MPs continued to stand with the party.
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“Atram might be knowing more. I do not have any idea. We eight MPs were united yesterday, are united today and will remain united tomorrow. If Baba Atram has a list of five MPs, he should disclose the names,” she said.
She also quipped, “If he has a list of five MPs, why is he not poaching me? Why is he sparing me?”
Speaking to reporters, Pawar also referred to the recent split in the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s parliamentary ranks, saying, “Shiv Sena UBT MPs have split, none of our MPs will split.”
His remarks came amid speculation over possible defections following the exit of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs, who formally joined the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde earlier this week.
6 MPs Defect From Shiv Sena (UBT)
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant said he and fellow MP Anil Desai had met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and urged him not to take any decision regarding the defecting MPs without first hearing their side.
“You know that six of our Shiv Sena MPs from the Uddhav Thackeray-led party left the party and joined another party. Anil Desai and I met Lok Sabha Speaker last week and submitted a request regarding this matter. In that request, we stated that if any individual or MP comes to you individually or in a group and says they want to leave, you should protect the Constitution. This is our expectation,” Sawant told reporters.
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He added, “Now, after this incident, we sent a letter again, requesting that if anything happens regarding this matter, please hear from us first and don’t make a decision without hearing from us. So, he gave us time today. We asked him to let us know if he received any letters. He said he did not receive any letters.”
The six MPs were inducted into the Shiv Sena in the presence of Eknath Shinde on June 22. Addressing a press conference after the induction, Shinde said, “Operation Tiger is successful.”
He said the move had been carried out in accordance with constitutional provisions and parliamentary procedures, adding that the MPs had joined the party to work for the development of their constituencies.
“Today we welcome all these six kattar Shivsainik MPs into the original Shiv Sena of Balasaheb Thackeray and Anand Dighe. In 2022, we carried out a revolt when 40 MLAs joined us, and that was to save the Shiv Sena of Balasaheb. This is the second phase of that same movement. We are here to preserve the ideology of Shiv Sena and Balasaheb, and that is why these MPs have decided to come to the original Shiv Sena,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
