Support 83-Year-Old Warrior: Supriya Sule Appeals To NCP Leaders

NCP Working President Supriya Sule on Wednesday urged party legislators and workers to attend the meeting called by Sharad Pawar today.

The clarion call comes as the rival faction, headed by Ajit Pawar, has also announced a meeting today of all party MLAs.

"It is a humble request that you all attend this meeting in large numbers. In the current situation, the 83-year-old young warrior and our beloved leader Sharad Pawar will be there to guide us all. He will tell us the future plans of the party and our responsibilities," Supriya said in a video.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has 53 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly. So far, 20 leaders have extended support to Ajit Pawar, while Sharad Pawar has the backing of 12 legislatures. The decision of 21 MLAs is still undecided.

The Sharad Pawar-led NCP has issued a whip to all MLAs asking them to remain present for a key meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, while the rival group headed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has also called a separate meeting of party legislators here.

The one-line whip issued on Tuesday by Jitendra Awhad, chief whip of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, said the meeting has been called by Sharad Pawar at 1 pm at Y B Chavan Centre on July 5, and the presence of all MLAs is mandatory.

Pawar senior named Awhad as chief whip after nephew Ajit Pawar joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government with eight other MLAs on Sunday.

The Ajit Pawar camp also issued a notice on Tuesday to all current and former legislators, parliamentarians, office-bearers, working committee members and others, asking them to attend a meeting convened by Sunil Tatkare, the Maharashtra unit president appointed by the group, at the MET institute's premises in suburban Bandra on Wednesday.

The notice was issued by Shivajirao Garje, who has been expelled by the Sharad Pawar-led party for indulging in anti-party activities.