NCP split: Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar factions to hold separate meets in south Mumbai, Bandra on Wednesday

Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar

The Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party will hold their meetings in Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in south Mumbai and in Bhujbal Knowledge City in suburban Bandra, respectively, on Wednesday.

NCP national president Sharad Pawar has called a meeting at 1pm while the Ajit Pawar faction, which has aligned with the ruling Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis dispensation, will have its meet at 11am, functionaries from both sides said.

This will be the first meeting involving all functionaries for both factions since the party split on Sunday after Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs, including Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil and Hasan Mushrif, joined the Eknath Shinde government.

Both factions have claimed maximum number of MLAs are with them.

Incidentally, Amol Kolhe, Lok Sabha MP from Shirur, who attended the swearing-in ceremony on Sunday, a day later tweeted that he continued to be loyal to party supremo Sharad Pawar.