New Delhi:
Nine rebel MLAs of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), who backed Ajit Pawar and the Bharatiya Janata Party for government formation in Maharashtra, is being taken to Delhi in a private jet. According to reports the MLAs who are in the private jet are - Daulat Bhika Daroda (Shahapur), Narhari Sitaram Zirwal (Dindori), Sunil Chandrakant Bhuasara (Vikramgad), Diliprao Shankarrao Bankar (Niphad), Anil Bhaidas Patil (Amalner), Nitin Arjun Pawar (Kalvan), Sunil Shelke (Maval), Babasaheb Mohanrao Patil (Ahmadpur), and Sanjay Bansode (Udgir).
According to reports, a large number of NCP supporters have gathered outside gate number 8 of the airport. They are protesting against the MLAs who have extended support to Ajit Pawar and the BJP.
Earlier, NCP chief Sharad Pawar 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.
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.
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 power struggle with Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule over the post of chief minister.
"Supriya is not interested in state politics. She is a member of Parliament and more keen on national politics," the NCP chief said.
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.
With Agency Inputs
