Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday announced an alliance between the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and its Sharad Pawar-led faction, the NCP(SP), marking a reunion after a bitter feud.
The announcement came during a rally in Pimpri Chinchwad ahead of the upcoming civic polls: elections to 29 civic corporations in Maharashtra, including Pimpri Chinchwad, will be held on 15 January, with vote counting set to take place the next day.
"While finalizing the list of candidates for the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal elections, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Nationalist Congress Party Sharadchandra Pawar faction decided to contest the polls together in Pimpri Chinchwad. Because of this, the family will come together once again," Ajit Pawar told reporters.
"There were 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. I have discussed seat-sharing with leaders here, and that too will be announced soon," he added.
The Maharashtra Deputy CM's announcement comes a day after NCP(SP) leader leader Azam Pansare said that the two factions would like alliance.
After meeting the Deputy CM on Saturday, Pansare said that the two had met after a while, adding, “We wish to have an alliance [between NCP(SP) and NCP]... He told me that a decision will be taken soon.”
Teaming up for civic polls
The announced reunion comes over two-and-a-half-years after Ajit Pawar surprised everyone in July 2023 and rebelled against his uncle to become a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance.
After the split, both factions of the NCP faced each other in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections and the Maharashtra Legislative Elections in the same year.
While the senior Pawar fared better in the Parliamentary polls, winning eight seats to his nephew's one, Ajit turned the tables in the Assembly polls, winning 41 seats to the NCP(SP)'s 10.
Ahead of this year's civic corporation elections, rumours surfaced about a potential Pawar reunion in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, but hopes of an alliance had faded after it was reported on Saturday that both would contest the Pune polls independently after a disagreement over which party symbol to contest under.
Reportedly, for the Pune polls, Ajit Pawar insisted that candidates backed by the Sharad Pawar faction contest only under the NCP's ‘clock’ symbol. He reportedly also turned down the NCP(SP)'s demand for 68 seats.
