Sharad Pawar has dissolved all departments and cells of the Nationalist Congress Party with immediate effect, a senior NCP leader said on Wednesday. The NCP chief's move was confirmed by the party's national general secretary Praful Patel, who took to Twitter and said all departments and cells stand dissolved with immediate effect.
"With approval of national president, Nationalist Congress party, Sharad Pawar, all departments and cells stand dissolved with immediate effect," Praful Patel wrote on Twitter.
Patel, a former Union minister, did not disclose the reason for the sudden move, which comes three weeks after the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra.
The NCP was a key constituent of the Shiv Sena-led coalition government which fell apart in late June following a rebellion by a section of MLAs of the Uddhav Thackeray-led saffron outfit.
Sharad Pawar breaking Shiv Sena, alleges ex-Maha minister Kadam
A couple of days ago, former Maharashtra minister Ramdas Kadam alleged that Sharad Pawar was breaking the Shiv Sena and he had given a proof of this to Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.
The Sena was "systematically weakened" by Pawar. Some MLAs had expressed concern over it but Thackeray was not ready to part ways with Pawar, Kadam claimed while talking to a TV channel.
"We should be thankful that this (rebellion led by CM Eknath Shinde) happened in the first two-and-a-half years of the Thackeray government.
Otherwise, the Sena would have been finished at the end of the five-year tenure. Not even 5-10 MLAs would have won the next Assembly election," he said.
However, NCP's chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase dismissed Kadam's remarks, claiming the BJP was behind the split in the Shiv Sena and that the rebel leaders were trying to divert the attention from it by targeting Pawar.
(With inputs from PTI)
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