All 54 NCP MLAs backing us says top BJP source

New Delhi, Nov 23: Putting to rest speculation that the NCP may have split in Maharashtra, a senior leader of the BJP said that the entire NCP is backing them.

The BJP leader who did not wish to be identified told OneIndia that all the MLAs from the NCP are supporting the party. I am not aware of what the others in the NCP are saying, but all 54 MLAs from the party are backing the government, he further added.

The source also said that the government would be a stable one. There are 15 independents who are supporting us and this takes the BJP's tally to 120. With the support of the 54 NCP MLAs our tally is 174 and we are in a comfortable position, he also said.

The BJP has 105 seats, while the NCP has 54. In the 288 member assembly, the magic mark is 245 and both the parties are comfortably ahead of the mark. The Shiv Sena and the Congress, on the other hand, have 56 and 44 seats each.

Sharad Pawar has said that his nephew Ajit Pawar's decision to support the BJP was his personal one. This is not a decision of the NCP and we place on record that we do not support or endorse this decision taken by him (Ajit Pawar), Pawar senior also said.

The statement by Sharad Pawar comes minutes after NCP leader Praful Patel too endorsed the same view. Patel said that this is not the NCP's decision. Sharad Pawar has nothing to do with it, Patel also said adding more drama to the entire episode.

After being sworn in as the deputy CM, Ajit Pawar said that he decided to take this call as the talks between the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena were never-ending. There was a need to give Maharashtra a stable government, said Ajit Pawar, who is Sharad Pawar's nephew.

It may be recalled that Sharad Pawar had met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for 40 minutes last week. Pawar had said that he was meeting with the PM to discuss the farmer issue in Maharashtra.

Fadnavis said that the people had given us a clear mandate, but the Shiv Sena tried to ally with other parties. As a result of this President's rule was imposed in the state. Maharashtra needed a stable government and not an unstable one. However, it must be noted that Fadnavis had only thanked Ajit Pawar for the formation of the government.