Ajit Pawar, who pulled off a political coup in Maharashtra by joining hands with the BJP on Saturday, was sacked as NCP Legislature Party chief. He was replaced by party state president Jayant Patil.
The decision was taken at a meeting attended by NCP president Sharad Pawar, top leaders and legislators of the party in Mumbai. All powers of Ajit to issue whip and function as NCP Legislative Party chief have been withdrawn with immediate effect.
Ajit was appointed the NCP chief in Assembly on October 30, a week after the election results were announced on October 24.
In a dramatic turn of events, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the chief minister and Ajit as the deputy chief minister, sabotaging the prospects of the NCP, the Congress and the Shiv Sena forming a coalition government.
In the 288-member Assembly, the BJP has 105 MLAs, the Shiv Sena 56, the NCP 54 and the Congress 44. The halfway mark is 145.