Ajit's act is indiscipline; Sena-NCP-Cong will form govt: Pawar

Mumbai: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday described his nephew Ajit Pawar’s decision to join hands with the BJP an act of indiscipline, and said Ajit and other MLAs of the party who have switched sides would attract the provisions of the anti-defection law.

Claiming that the new BJP-led dispensation would not pass the floor test, he asserted that the Shiv Sena-NCP- Congress combine has the numbers and will form the government.

Pawar addressed a press conference with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray after the stunning developments of the morning.

The MLAs who have defected stand to lose the membership of the Assembly, and when byelections are held, the Congress-NCP-Sena alliance will ensure that they are defeated, the Pawar senior said.

“Their voters, too, would take an appropriate stand,” he said.

Sharad Pawar said he was not aware if his nephew decided to support the BJP out of the fear of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Ajit Pawar is among those named in the multi- crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam case.

He also rejected the speculation that Ajit’s defiance was the result of a power struggle with Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule over the post of the chief minister.

Pawar said the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena, along with independents and smaller parties, have the support of 169 to 170 MLAs, and they were ready to form the government.