NCP factions led Sharad, Ajit join hands to contest PCMC polls

Nearly two-and-a-half years after a bitter split in the United Nationalist Congress Party, the ruling NCP (Ajit Pawar) and Opposition NCP (Sharad Pawar) have come together to contest the municipal corporation polls in Pune’s satellite city of Pimpri-Chinchwad, which is the pocket — borough of the Pawar family.

It is the realisation that if they contest the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) polls separately, there would be massive division in the traditional united NCP votes that has prompted both the factions of the NCP — one led by Ajit Pawar and another by Sharad Pawar — come together to crucial polls on their home turf.

For the past few months, leaders of both the NCP factions have been working hard to cobble an alliance for the PCMC polls.

It is no wonder that during the past few months, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and his nephew and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar were seen together in several public events and family functions.

The coming together of the two NCP factions is being seen as a major political development, given that the Ajit Pawar-led NCP is part of the BJP-led ruling MahaYuti in the state and the Sharad Pawar-headed NCP has been part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which contested the 2024 Lok Sabha and State Assembly polls as an Opposition front.

It may be recalled that on July 2, 2023, the NCP witnessed a vertical split after Ajit Pawar rebelled against the leadership, walked with a majority of party MLAs and teamed up with the BJP to be part of the Eknath Shinde Government.

Later on, Ajit Pawar-led NCP joined the BJP-led MahaYuti Government after the ruling alliance rode to power in November 2024. 

Significantly enough, an announcement about the electoral tie-up between the two NCP factions for the PCMC polls was made by Ajit Pawar, hours after he shared the dais with Sharad Pawar in their hometown of Baramati at a function of Vidya Pratisthan during which the family felicitated eminent businessman and Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani.

“For the sake of the Pimpri-Chinchwad, the ‘ghadyal’ (the clock symbol of NCP) and the ‘tutari’ (the trumpet symbol of NCP (SP)) have united. The ‘parivar’ (family) has come together as many wanted,” Ajit Pawar said.

Seeking to set at rest speculations about the impact of such an alliance between the two NCP factions on the political situation in Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar said: “There have been many questions in people’s minds about what would happen. Many times, certain decisions have to be taken in the interest of Maharashtra’s development. The two parties have taken a decision to contest the PCMC polls as an alliance after taking broader consideration of the issues involved.”