Mumbai: Amid the rise in COVID-19 and Omicron variant cases in Maharashtra, the ruling Nationalist Congress Party, which shares power with Shiv Sena and Congress in the state, on Wednesday announced the cancellation of party workshop and other public events. The decision was taken at the meeting chaired by the party chief Sharad Pawar with NCP ministers and leaders here today.

"Concerns have been raised as corona patients are increasing in the state. That is why the party has cancelled the proposed workshop and public events," announced NCP Chief Spokesman and Minority Affair Minister Nawab Malik after the meeting. NCP’s decision came days after the Maharashtra Government ordered that the gathering or programme whether social, cultural, political or religious, whether in enclosed spaces or open to sky spaces, the maximum number of attendees shall be restricted to 50 persons. Already Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has attended government and party programmes with attendance on only 50 people.

Further, it was also decided at the meeting that there should be no local body polls in Maharashtra in the absence of OBC seats. ‘’It was the role of the party from the very beginning not to hold the local body elections without the political reservation of OBCs,’’ he noted.

In the recently concluded winter session the state legislature has unanimously passed a resolution that local body elections should not be held in the absence of OBC seats. This was done in the wake of the scrapping of 27% of OBC quota in the local bodies and also the apex court stayed the state government’s ordinance proposing the reservation within the 50% quota ceiling.

Malik said it was decided that a senior NCP Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who is the founder of Samata Parishad, has been given the responsibility to fight the court battle over OBCs' political reservation.

Further, Malik said Pawar asked the ministers and leaders to step up the party’s membership drive ahead of the internal party elections. The party chief also asked them to be ready for upcoming civic and local body polls in the state.