Mumbai, September 27: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar and former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar resigned for the post of MLA from the Maharashtra Assembly. According to news agency ANI, speaker of the House Haribhau Bagade has accepted his resignation. Ajit is named along with his uncle and NCP Chief Sharad Pawar - by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged Rs 25,000-crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank Ltd. scam. Sharad Pawar to Visit ED Office: Mumbai Police Teams Reach NCP Chief's Residence Ahead of Questioning.

The case is based on a Mumbai Police FIR which had named former chairmen of the bank, ex-deputy chief minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar and 70 former functionaries of the cooperative bank. “I received a call from Ajit Pawar that he wanted to resign as the member of the house. Though he didn’t give any reason, I accepted his request and accepted his resignation,” reported New Indian Express quoting Bagade as saying. Sharad Pawar, Nephew Ajit Pawar Among Others Booked in PMLA Case Linked to Maharashtra Cooperative Bank Scam.

Earlier in the day, the NCP chief postponed the visit to Mumbai office of the ED. He said that he had taken the decision after his meeting with the Mumbai Police Commissioner. A police team along with sniffer dogs also reached to the NCP office in Mumbai. To avoid any untoward incident, section 144 was also imposed in the whole area.

The assembly elections in Maharashtra are scheduled to take place on October 21, and the result will take place on October 24. The NCP is contesting the elections in alliance with the Congress. Both parties are contesting on 125 seats each, while 38 seats were left for other alliance partners.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 27, 2019 07:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).