Hours before Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar`s anticipated verdict on the petitions filed by rival factions within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the group led by Ajit Pawar reaffirmed its commitment to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The impending decision follows a split within the NCP last July when Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs aligned with the state government under the Shiv Sena and BJP coalition, sparking a series of cross-petitions, reported PTI.

News agency PTI reported that Speaker Narwekar is scheduled to rule on the disqualification petitions filed by the warring NCP factions on Thursday, as directed by the Supreme Court. Sunil Tatkare of the NCP (Ajit Pawar group) told a regional news channel that they will stick to their choice to join the NDA, which they attributed to Ajit Pawar`s leadership. Tatkare expressed hope for a positive outcome from the Speaker`s decision.