'EC to give stamp of approval to Ajit Pawar faction joining Maha govt'

NCP MP Sunil Tatkare was responding to a query about the poll body's probable response on different stands taken by NCP founder Sharad Pawar and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar

NCP MP Sunil Tatkare, a loyalist of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, on Tuesday claimed the Election Commission of India (ECI) will give its "stamp of approval" to the decision of their faction to join the Maharashtra government.

Our decision to join the state government will be favourably stamped by the ECI. This decision was taken by several top leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party. We have communicated our decision to the ECI as well as to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Tatkare told reporters.

He was responding to a query about the poll body's probable response on different stands taken by NCP founder Sharad Pawar and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

Queried on the possibility of the Union government officially replacing the word India from the country's name with Bharat, Tatkare said, Since childhood, we have been giving slogans like 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'. It will be good to take an amicable stand over this issue. The opposition parties are unnecessarily creating an issue out of it.

Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs of NCP joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra in July.