NCP's Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel reach Delhi to meet Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP leaders
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New Delhi: Amid a standoff over allocation of portfolios in Maharashtra, senior NCP leaders Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel arrived here on Wednesday evening for a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and top BJP leaders.
Talking to reporters here, Patel, the working president of the Nationalist Congress Party, dismissed suggestions about a rift in the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance in Maharashtra and asserted that the issue about the allocation of portfolios has been sorted out and a cabinet expansion in the state will take place in a day or two.
In a surprise development on July 2, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP split as his nephew Ajit Pawar and almost three dozen MLAs joined the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP alliance. Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP leaders were sworn in as ministers.
"Do not read too much into our meetings here. It is just a courtesy call on senior BJP leaders. Ajit dada and myself have not had a formal meeting with the top BJP leadership. We will be meeting Home Minister Amit Shah and other BJP leaders here," Patel said.
He asserted that the issue of allocation of portfolios has been sorted out during two late-night meetings between Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar and himself on Monday and Tuesday.
"The expansion of the Maharashtra cabinet will happen in a day or two," Patel said.
Besides Patel and Ajit Pawar, senior NCP leader Hasan Mushrif is also in the national capital.
However, Patel said Mushrif is here for some personal work and will not join Ajit Pawar and him at the meeting with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
Patel said Ajit Pawar and he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 18 when a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents has been convened by the BJP.
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Cong alleges its Rithala candidate 'assaulted' by EC official
New Delhi, Jan 26 (PTI): The Congress alleged Saturday its Rithala candidate Sushant Mishra was assaulted by a poll official, and demanded a thorough probe into the incident and action against him.
Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed Sushant Mishra was assaulted by an Election Commission of India official on Saturday.
He alleged the official also attempted to prevent Mishra from undertaking a Padayatra for which the Delhi Police had already given permission.
In a post on X, Ramesh said, "@sushant_m has been actively taking up violations of the Model Code of Conduct by other candidates in the ongoing Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections. This unprecedented and illegal act of partisanship by an official of a Constitutional body like the ECI can only be seen as a desperate attempt by the AAP and BJP to stem the surge of support for his candidacy and that of the Congress Party in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections"
Ramesh said the Congress remains undaunted and will continue to raise the voice of people and protect the sanctity of elections.
"To preserve the integrity of the electoral process, the Indian National Congress demands a full inquiry into the incident and immediate corrective action against the concerned official," the Congress leader demanded.
Mishra has also separately written to the returning office and Chief Electoral officer and the Election Commission about the incident, demanding action against the accused.
.@INCIndia के रिठाला विधानसभा के उम्मीदवार सुशांत मिश्रा (@sushant_m) पर कल @ECISVEEP के एक अधिकारी ने हमला करके उन्हें घायल कर दिया। अधिकारी ने उन्हें पदयात्रा करने से रोकने का भी प्रयास किया, जिसके लिए दिल्ली पुलिस ने पहले ही अनुमति दे दी थी।
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) January 26, 2025
सुशांत मिश्रा दिल्ली विधानसभा… pic.twitter.com/sQ7I6EIvvY
