In preparation for the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly session, which begins today, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislators have been given two different sets of instructions. While NCP chief whip Jitendra Awhad has requested the lawmakers to sit on the opposition benches, Ajit Pawar, the leader of the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition, has issued a whip requesting the lawmakers to sit with the coalition.

Ajit Pawar abruptly quit as the head of the opposition last month and then swore in as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra hours later.

Ajit Pawar was given a significant Finance portfolio on Friday, and his party also managed to win the Cooperative and Agriculture Ministries, which had previously been held by the BJP and the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.