Shinde-Fadnavis govt may fall in six months, be ready for mid-term polls: Sharad Pawar tells NCP MLAs

Days after the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government took the charge of the office, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday hinted at the mid-term assembly poll in Maharashtra as all is not well in the new government due to unrest among the legislators from the treasury benches. Pawar at the meeting with the party legislators asked them to pay more attention to their respective constituencies and gear up for the mid-term election. NCP insiders indicated that the mid-term poll may take place by end of December with Gujarat or early next year with Karnataka.

Pawar raised serious doubts over the survival of the Shinde-Fadnavis government till 2024 when the next state assembly election is scheduled to take place. ‘’The new government may not survive for long as it may remain in place for five to six months. Be ready for mid-term polls,’’ said the NCP chief. ‘’There are a large number of disgruntled elements in the Shinde-Fadnavis government and it will be surfaced after the proposed cabinet expansion. There is every possibility that the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs may do their ‘’ghar vapsi’’ (return to Thackeray led Shiv Sena),’’ he noted.

Pawar emphasised the need for the NCP legislators to increase their presence in respective constituencies, pay more focus on the completion of a slew of development works being undertaken during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and step up the outreach with the voters.

Pawar asked the party legislators that they should be fully ready for mid-term polls.

NCP chief’s call came on a day when the Shinde-Fadnavis government gained the first win after its candidate Rahul Narvekar won the Speaker’s election. Besides, the government will move a vote of confidence on Monday and expects to comfortably win. In today’s Speaker’s election, Narvekar got 164 votes against 107 by Shiv Sena nominee Rajan Salvi who was supported by NCP and Congress.