Mumbai, November 26: During the floor test in Maharashtra assembly tomorrow, the pro-tem speaker will decide who is NCP Legislature Party chief. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on November 23 sacked rebel legislator Ajit Pawar as its Legislature Party chief and replaced him with Jayant Patil. The Sharad Pawar-led party has also informed the Raj Bhawan about the replacement of Ajit Pawar as the legislature party leader.

"The legislature secretariat has received a letter (from NCP) claiming that Jayant Patil is the leader. The letter has to be received by the secretariat to forward it to the Speaker. We cannot decide on it. The decision on the claim will be decided by the Speaker. There is no decision on it as of now," Maharashtra Legislature Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat told news agency ANI on Tuesday. Maharashtra Power Tussle: NCP, Shiv Sena, Congress Show Unity, Sharad Pawar Says 'Will Bring More Than 162 MLAs During Floor Test'.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been claiming that Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is the NCP legislature party leader. "We are confirmed that Ajit Pawar is the leader of NCP on the Floor of the House, and his whip will hold as leader of the legislature party," BJP leader Ashish Shelar said earlier today. If the pro-tem speaker holds Ajit Pawar as NCP's leader in the House, he can issue a whip asking party legislators to vote in favour of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

If NCP MLAs violate the whip, they will face disqualification. However, if the pro-tem speaker says Jayant Patil is NCP's leader then the Fadnavis government could fall during the floor test. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari will be required to appoint and swear-in the pro-tem speaker. By established conventions, the seniormost MLA is usually appointed a pro-tem speaker, though there has been a departure in the past.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 26, 2019 12:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).