The Congress party was quick to announce that they would be expelled soon. With the expulsion, the number of expelled corporators would go up to seven with more likely to follow. The party claims that it has evidence againt two more but will wait for sometime before announcing their names.

Members were taken by surprise at the general body meeting today, when Congress corporators and known Pawar loyalists Manorama Patil and Balwant Pawar gave fiery speeches in favour of Pawar. Patil called the Maratha strongman an `iron man.'

Calling Pawar an `iron man' Patil stated that the former defence minister was right in questioning whether the Congress party should allow a foreigner to occupy the chair of the prime minister. She took the opportunity to complain that her party leaders had not been given any important position in thecivic corporation, equating her plight with that of Sharad Pawar.

However, attending a meeting called by Mumbai Regional Congress Committee president Murli Deora, Patil claimed that she was misunderstood. ``Supporting Pawar does not mean that I will desert the Congress,'' she tried to convince her partymen.

Meanwhile, Balwant Pawar lauded Sharad Pawar's contribution to the state and the country adding the latter deserved to be the leader of a party. Even as his supporters displayed Pawar's posters during the speech, members of the ruling combine cheered the speakers. But Mayor Hareshwar Patil ordered restraint in their speeches. Expelled corporator Vishnu Kanavje was allowed to be addressed as leader of the newly set up Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the BMC. Later Pawar's supporters claimed that 20 of 51 Congress corporators have expressed support to NCP leader.

Leader of the opposition Kisan Jadhav, Ravindra Pawar and A K Bastiwala tried to save the embarrasment by saying that the Congress hadfaced similar situation in the past and in fact had emerged stronger.

Ramesh Joshi of the Samajwadi Party asked why the 125 year old party which formed the union government for most of the last 50 years could not find an Indian leader from the 100 crore population.

The issue was raised by leader of the House Digambar Kandarkar who first lauded Sharad Pawar for taking this decision and later called him a betrayer for letting down Congress leaders such as Yashwantrao Chavan and Sudhakarrao Naik in the past.