The distance between uncle and nephew has been bridged at the end of the year. Maharashtra deputy chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party supremo Ajit Pawar on Sunday announced that the two rival factions of the NCP will jointly contest the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) elections. This makes it the first civic body in Maharashtra where the divided party has formally decided to fight together after the split. Pawar was in Pimpri-Chinchwad to campaign for the January 15 civic elections. This reunion has led to speculation about whether the BJP will be affected by the uncle-nephew alliance in the coming days.
Our family has come together again: Ajit Pawar at Pimpri-Chinchwad
During the election campaign, Ajit Pawar clearly stated, “Our family has come together again.” During the election campaign at Talawade in Pimpri-Chinchwad, on Sunday, the deputy CM said, “Our family has come together. While finalising the candidate list, the two factions of the NCP decided to fight together. Many have questioned whether this alliance will actually be beneficial. But sometimes decisions have to be made solely for the betterment of Maharashtra. For now, we are united.”
However, while announcing the tie-up, Pawar did not mention the seat-sharing arrangement between the two factions, even as the nomination deadline for the civic polls draws close and rival parties are waiting for NCP’s candidate list.
Meanwhile, this understanding is only for the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal elections. In the remaining elections, the Sharad and Ajit factions of the NCP will contest separately. Discussions were also underway between the uncle and nephew regarding an alliance for the Pune municipal elections. But it seems that agreement is about to fall apart. According to sources, Ajit has practically disregarded Sharad’s words. That is why Sharad has reportedly resumed discussions with the Maha Vikas Aghadi regarding the Pune municipal elections.
Sharad and Ajit Pawar split
Notably, Ajit separated from Sharad Pawar almost three years ago. After winning a legal battle, he also gained control of the NCP’s clock symbol. In last year’s Lok Sabha elections, Sharad Pawar had outperformed his nephew. But in the assembly elections, Ajit Pawar’s faction won 41 seats, while Sharad’s party secured 10 seats. Since then, speculation began that the two NCP factions were going to merge. This has now begun with the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipality.
However, this has dealt a fresh blow to Sharad Pawar’s faction. Prashant Jagtap, the former mayor of Pune, left the NCP (Sharad) and joined the Congress on Friday in protest against Sharad Pawar’s faction joining hands with Ajit Pawar, a partner in the BJP-led NDA.
On July 2, 2023, Ajit Pawar staged a rebellion within the NCP, joining hands with the BJP against Sharad Pawar’s wishes. He became the Deputy Chief Minister in the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and BJP coalition government in Maharashtra. Following Ajit Pawar’s rebellion, the internal dynamics of the NCP changed. After Ajit Pawar and nine other rebel NCP MLAs received ministerial positions and important portfolios, his faction gradually gained strength within the legislative party. A section of the MPs also sided with him.
Ultimately, the Election Commission ruled in favour of Ajit Pawar, giving him control of the NCP. The party name and the election symbol, the clock, were allocated to his faction. Sharad Pawar’s faction became known as NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), and its election symbol became the ‘Tutari’ (a Marathi version of the Western musical instrument, the trumpet). Despite losing the name and symbol, Sharad Pawar performed remarkably well in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, winning eight seats.
On the other hand, Ajit Pawar’s party contested four seats and won only one. In the Baramati constituency, Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, lost to Sharad Pawar’s daughter, Supriya Sule.
Following this, questions were raised about Ajit Pawar within the Sangh Parivar and the BJP. But just six months after the Lok Sabha elections, Ajit Pawar made a surprising comeback in Maratha politics. His NCP contested 59 seats and won 41. On the other hand, NCP (Sharad Pawar) fielded candidates in 86 assembly constituencies but secured only 10 seats! However, differences arose between Ajit Pawar and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s government over the distribution of ministerial portfolios. In this situation, discussions about a potential Sharad-Ajit Pawar reunion resumed in recent months. After Fadnavis’ BJP announced that it would contest the Pune municipal elections separately, the two NCP factions formally reached a seat-sharing agreement.
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