Tamil Nadu CM Stalin speaks to Sharad Pawar after split in NCP, extends support

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 3 : After the split in Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday spoke to NCP chief Sharad Pawar over the phone, discussed the current situation and extended support to him.
This comes after NCP's senior leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday joined Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra and took oath as the state's deputy chief minister.
Earlier on Sunday, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Sunday spoke to NCP chief Sharad Pawar over the phone and discussed the current situation and extended support to him.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar earlier said, "This is not 'googly', it is a robbery" and he was worried about the future of those who left the party.
Talking to reporters after his nephew and eight other party leaders rebelled and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra, Pawar said he was not worried about what happened and will work to strengthen the party again.
"This is not 'googly', it is a robbery. It is not a small thing," Sharad Pawar said. "Some of my colleagues have taken a different stand. I had called a meeting of all the leaders on July 6, where some important issue was to be discussed and some changes were to be made within the party but before that meeting, some of the leaders have taken a different stand."
On Sunday, NCP leader Ajit Pawar joined the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance and took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister on Sunday in a surprise and dramatic political move that changed political equations in the state ahead of Lok Sabha and assembly polls next year and has ramifications for national politics.