The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Sharad Pawar, has issued a whip to all MLAs, directing their presence at a crucial meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday. In a parallel move, the rival group headed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has called for a separate meeting of party legislators.

The concise whip, issued on Tuesday by Jitendra Awhad, the chief whip of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, emphasized that the meeting, scheduled for 1 pm on July 5, has been convened by Sharad Pawar at the Y B Chavan Centre. Attendance of all MLAs is deemed mandatory.

Jitendra Awhad was appointed as chief whip by Sharad Pawar following Ajit Pawar’s decision to join the Shiv Sena-BJP government along with eight other MLAs on Sunday.

On the other hand, the Ajit Pawar camp issued a notice on Tuesday to current and former legislators, parliamentarians, office-bearers, working committee members, and others. They have been called to attend a meeting organized by Sunil Tatkare, appointed as the Maharashtra unit president by the group. The meeting is scheduled to take place at the MET Institute’s premises in suburban Bandra on Wednesday.

The notice was issued by Shivajirao Garje, who has been expelled from the Sharad Pawar-led party due to allegations of engaging in anti-party activities.

The Ajit Pawar camp has also urged Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to disqualify Jayant Patil, the state NCP president, and Jitendra Awhad as MLAs.
Meanwhile, NCP working president Praful Patel, who was dismissed from the party by Sharad Pawar, appointed Ajit Pawar as the leader of the NCP legislature party on Monday. Anil Bhaidas Patil, who took the oath as a minister on Sunday, will continue serving as the party whip in the Assembly.

The NCP led by Sharad Pawar has filed a petition before Speaker Narwekar, seeking the disqualification of Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs who were sworn in as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led government.
The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly currently comprises 53 NCP MLAs.