Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 9: Both the factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by the Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and his uncle and founder leader of the party Sharad Pawar have joined hands to fight the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporation elections together, but indications are that the unification of the two units may continue even beyond the civic elections.
“Workers of the Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) two factions want to unite. The two NCPs are together now. All tensions in our family have ended,” Mr Ajit Pawar said days ahead of the civic body polls in the state due on January 15.
The reunion of the Pawar family comes after the Nationalist Congress Party, founded by Sharad Pawar, split in 2023 when Ajit Pawar broke away from his uncle along with other senior party members and joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), claimed the original party name and symbol and took change at the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra.
Earlier on Thursday as well, Ajit Pawar had signalled while talking to a local news channel that the rival NCP factions could permanently come together after the ongoing municipal elections and emphasised that in politics, there were no “permanent enemies.”
“As municipal elections are underway, we are extremely busy with alliance talks, seat-sharing, campaign planning, and the actual campaigning. There is no time to discuss these issues right now…But since both factions have come together in some places, the workers of both parties are very happy. One thing is clear—there are no permanent enemies in politics,” he said.
Both the factions of NCP are fighting together in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad in the upcoming civic body polls, a decision which was welcomed by the workers of both the parties, junior Pawar said. “Workers from both factions are happy that we are contesting together in these cities. It is a good thing. We will discuss the larger issue later, as our focus right now is on the elections,” he said.
When asked about why he himself was spending quite some time in both the cities as compared to his cousin and NCP (SP) faction working president Supriya Sule, Ajit said the focus of leaders varies depending on the region and that Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad were his home districts and thus, he was spending maximum time there. “Sunil Tatkare has also visited Pune, and other leaders are campaigning in their respective districts. I have been informed that Supriya Sule will be visiting the city soon for campaigning,” he said.
Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar’s daughter and Ajit Pawar’s cousin, also confirmed that the two NCP factions have come together for the Pimpri-Chinchwad polls on the demand of party workers. But she was not certain about the future. “There has been no discussion on whether this alliance with Ajit Pawar will continue,” she said. Sule also trashed rumours of NCP (SP) joining Maharashtra’s BJP-led government and her taking charge as a minister. “Let those who are happy with such rumours talk about them,” she said.
Ajit Pawar touched upon other matters such as the controversy over a land deal linked to his son, Parth Pawar. “He didn’t give a single rupee. We also didn’t buy any land,” Ajit Pawar said.
On the patch-up between MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena’s (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray, the deputy chief minister showed no concern of any political threat. He dismissed the Raj Thackeray factor as inconsequential to the upcoming election to the Mumbai civic agency, the country’s richest municipal body. “Raj Thackeray’s speech is like a mimicry show; it gives entertainment for a short time, but nothing can be achieved with it. Both Raj and Uddhav will not be successful,” Ajit Pawar said.
Sule attacked the BJP for sowing divisions among small parties and breaking them. She pointed at the huge controversy in West Bengal where the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched the political consultancy form I-PAC. “Pollution, potholes and traffic problems are at their peak in Mumbai, no work has been done on the ground. The public and voters are troubled by the mismatched alliances happening in Maharashtra. How are so many leaders being elected unopposed? This is a disturbing trend,” Sule asked.
