Pawar holds meeting with NCP ministers, top leaders post-SC ruling on civic body polls

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday held a meeting in which party's ministers in the Maharashtra government and top leaders discussed the prospect of contesting the upcoming civic body polls along with MVA partners Shiv Sena and the Congress, its state unit president Jayant Patil said.

The meeting took place in the wake of the Supreme Court earlier in the day directing the Maharashtra State Election Commission to notify the programme for local body elections within two weeks and also in the backdrop of MNS president Raj Thackeray's demand to remove high-decibel loudspeakers from mosques in the state.

A three-judge bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Abhay S Oka, and C T Ravikumar said the delimitation as it existed prior to March 11, 2022, in respect of concerned local bodies be taken as notional delimitation for the conduct of overdue polls and to conduct the same on that basis in respect of each of such local bodies.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra ministers Dilip Walse Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal, Jitendra Awhad, Rajesh Tope, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Balasaheb Patil, Aditi Tatkare and Dattatray Bharane. Senior leaders Praful Patel, Supriya Sule, Sunil Tatkare and others, too, were present for the meeting.

“Discussion was held in the meeting on making efforts to see the MVA constituents contest polls in each district and municipal corporation together. Party leaders, guardian ministers, MLAs and MPs in respective districts should see how the MVA can contest the polls together,” Jayant Patil told reporters after the meeting.

State's Water Resources Minister Patil added key NCP leaders will hold discussions with the party's alliance partners in the state government at district levels. He reiterated that the Maharashtra government was for holding the local body polls with political reservation for OBCs, but added the ruling MVA will study the Supreme Court order before deciding further steps.

Jayant Patil added Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has convened a meeting on Thursday to discuss the apex court's ruling. According to sources in the NCP, the party may appoint its leader Vidya Chavan as its Maharashtra unit women wing chief. If that happens, Chavan will replace Rupali Chakankar in that post.

Chakanar is also the chairperson of the Maharashtra State Women's Commission.

Asked about it, Patil said, "Party's national women's wing president Fauzia Khan will decide on who will be the state women wing president." The NCP may also appoint six region-wise heads in a bid to strengthen the party's base in the state, the sources said. However, there was no immediate confirmation to this.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of the row over the MNS pitching for removal of high-decibel loudspeakers from mosques. Patil praised Chief Minister Thackeray and Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil for ensuring there was no law-and-order problem in the state in the wake of the MNS's demand and added the state government followed the apex court's order on curbing noise pollution.