India, Nov. 3 -- Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) lawmaker and former minister Manikrao Kokate on Tuesday said the late party leader Ajit Pawar's family would have the final say, and those opposing its decisions should leave the party. He added that "such elements" cannot be allowed to ruin the NCP, as he credited Pawar, who died in a plane crash in January, for working tirelessly to build a strong base for the party across Maharashtra.

Kokate maintained there will be no split in the party as its entire rank and file is with deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar, who succeeded Ajit Pawar as the NCP leader, and her family. Kokate, a family loyalist, refrained from naming any leaders.

The comments came two days after a group of NCP leaders ...