After homecoming Ajit Pawar back to NCP forefront

MUMBAI: Ajit Pawar seems to be taking over his old position as the ‘number two’ in the Nationalist Congress Party, after party chief Sharad Pawar. After his failed rebellion and return to the party, he has is again holding meetings and addressing legislators.

According to the power sharing deal forged between the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, it is believed Ajit will get the deputy chief minister’s post. The Congress has accepted the Speaker’s position.

Ajit is among the key leaders who devised the strategy for the confidence motion held on Saturday, and the Speaker’s election, scheduled to be held in the state Assembly on Sunday.

He held parleys with the newly-selected pro-tem Speaker, Dilip Walse-patil, and legislative council chairman Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar, and devised a strategy that was adopted for the confidence motion passed on the first day of the special session of the state legislature. He also attended the business advisory committee meeting of the state legislature on Friday. The meeting was attended by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and other cabinet ministers.

“In the meeting [on Friday], it was decided that the floor test should be through the head count process, and not the voice vote. Ajit Pawar also advised that the floor test be telecast live on all the news channels, to which everyone agreed,” said a senior leader, privy to the development.

On Saturday morning, Ajit addressed NCP MLAS and explained the voting process to be adopted for the confidence motion, along with party leaders Chhagan Bhujbal and Jayant Patil. A mock drill of the head count process adopted for the floor test in the state Assembly was also conducted.

Four NCP leaders — Ajit, Patil, Bhujbal and Dilip Walse-patil — again met in the evening on Saturday to formalise the party’s strategy for the Speaker’s election.

Before holding his first cabinet meeting on Thursday evening, CM held a meeting with senior leaders from all the three parties, which was also attended by Ajit.

However, Sharad Pawar is not keen on the idea of a cabinet expansion with immediate effect, some leaders have said.