Rebel NCP MP Amol Kolhe Returns To Sharad Pawar's Camp

In a first blow to rebel Ajit Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Amol Kolhe extended support to Sharad Pawar, a day after joining the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government.

"When there is a war between mind and heart, listen to your heart. Perhaps the mind sometimes forgets morality... but the heart never...I'm with Saheb," Kolhe tweeted on Monday.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar said several MLAs from Ajit Pawar's camp have contacted him stating that their ideology is similar to the party's.

"Many from there (Ajit Pawar) camp called me and said that their ideology is not different from that of NCP and they will take a final call in the next few days," he said.

On Sunday, Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the NCP to become the deputy chief minister. Eight other NCP leaders were also sworn in as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-BJP government.

While Ajit was sworn in as Deputy CM, eight other heavyweights of NCP were also sworn in as ministers, who have been close aides to his uncle and NCP President Sharad Pawar. These leaders include Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse-Patil, Hasan Musharif, Dhananjay Mundhe, and Aditi Tatkare. Ajit claims to have the support of 43 of the 53 NCP MLAs.

Ajit is now the second Deputy CM of Maharashtra, with Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) being the other.

This is the second tripartite government in Maharashtra, with the BJP, Shinde's Shiv Sena faction, and the NCP sharing governance. The first was formed in 2019 when Sharad Pawar stitched the coalition of the unified Sena, Congress, and NCP. It was known was the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition.

In 2022, Shinde's rebellion against the then-CM Uddhav Thackeray brought down the MVA government. Aided by the BJP, Shinde defected with 40 of the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs and eight of the 13 MPs to form government with the BJP.

A year later, Ajit has followed in Shinde's footsteps and effected a split in the NCP by defecting with 43 MLAs of the party. This is the third time since the Assembly elections of 2019 that he has taken charge as the Deputy Chief Minister.