Former Union Minister Praful Patel, who is with the NCP group led by Ajit Pawar, took a dig at the meeting of opposition parties in Patna last month. Patel expressed amusement at the scene where out of the 17 opposition parties present, seven had only one MP in the Lok Sabha, while one party had no MP at all. Speaking at a meeting of NCP leaders in Mumbai, Patel stated that their decision to join the BJP-led NDA alliance in Maharashtra was for the nation and their party, and not for personal gain.

The crisis in the Nationalist Congress Party further escalated as the two factions held simultaneous meetings to assert their control. The NCP led by Sharad Pawar organized a meeting of its members at YB Chavan Auditorium in Mumbai, while Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar convened a meeting of NCP MPs, MLAs, MLCs, district heads, and state delegates at the Mumbai Education Trust (MET) in Bandra.

Praful Patel participated in the opposition parties’ meeting in Patna on June 23 alongside Sharad Pawar. Patel, who was previously a close aide of Pawar, pointed out that questions were being raised about their alliance with the BJP while other parties such as PDP and National Conference, which had been allies of the BJP in the past, were not facing similar criticism. He compared the decision to join the BJP-led alliance with accepting the ideology of the Shiv Sena and reiterated that their move was not for personal gain.

Patel ridiculed the opposition parties’ claim of bringing about change and emphasized that their decision to join the NDA was made for the benefit of the nation and their party. The parallel meetings held by the two NCP factions came after both groups announced crucial appointments to assert dominance over the party.

The crisis in the Nationalist Congress Party was triggered by Ajit Pawar’s switch to the BJP and his subsequent appointment as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Eight other NCP MLAs also joined the BJP-led government as ministers. The NCP led by Sharad Pawar has filed a disqualification petition against the nine MLAs with the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker.

Sharad Pawar removed Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare from the party for their alleged anti-party activities. The action was taken after Patel and Tatkare supported Ajit Pawar and the other MLAs in violation of the party’s direction and mandate. Sharad Pawar’s communication also stated that their actions could result in disqualification from the party’s primary membership.

Praful Patel, who was recently appointed as the working president of the NCP, had been a close associate of Sharad Pawar. He served as a minister in the Congress-led UPA government along with Pawar. Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar’s daughter, had previously urged action against the two MPs.