NCP named Jitendra Awhad as LoP after Ajit Pawar joins Maharashtra government

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Sunday appointed Jitendra Awhad as the new Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Maharashtra assembly and the chief whip of the party in the lower house after the incumbent LoP Ajit Pawar joined Eknath Shinde government as the deputy chief minister.

Following his appointment as the LoP in the Maharashtra Assembly, Awhad, MLA from the Mumbra-Kalwa seat, asserted, "All the MLAs will have to abide by my whip," in connection with the disqualification and defection angles that are expected to arise after Ajit Pawar's move to join Maharashtra government.

When asked about Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation probes against some NCP leaders and its role in



them switching sides, Awhad said, "I don't see any other reason behind these leaders deciding to join the state government. There was no need to do such a thing. Those leaders could have sat aside."

"These leaders should not forget the party made them ministers in the past 25 years. Now, they are deserting their leader (83-year-old Sharad Pawar) in his twilight years," Awhad said.

Earlier, on Sunday, Ajit Pawar, backed by several NCP MLAs, joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government as deputy chief minister of the state. Along with Pawar, eight other NCP lawmakers, including senior leaders Chhagan Bhujbal, Dhananjay Munde and Dilip Walse Patil, also took oath as ministers at a ceremony in Raj Bhawan.