They say, blood is thicker than water. The Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have decided to contest the Pune Municipal Corporation elections together. This is the first instance where the uncle-nephew duo is coming back after the bitter split in the party in early 2024.
The NCP-NCP(SCP) allaince
Local leaders of the two NCPs held a meeting with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar late last night. The Indian Express reported that the pre-poll alliance between the two parties has been finalised. Ajit Pawar's NCP will be contesting on 125 seats, while the NCP (Sharad Chandra Pawar) will contest 40 seats. Notably, Ajit Pawar's NCP is a member of the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, which has the BJP at its helm. The NCP (SCP) is a part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, where they are allied with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress.
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The split in the Pawar party
The alliance of the NCP factions for the municipal elections will be their first since they split in 2023 when Ajit Pawar rebelled against his uncle, Sharad Pawar. The split was formalised in 2024, after which the veteran Sharad Pawar went on to create a new faction of the party, while his nephew Ajit gained complete control over the old organisation. The two leaders came together at the inauguration of the 'Sharad Chandra Pawar Centre for Excellence in Artificial Intelligence' on Sunday, Hindustan Times reported. While Sharad Pawar's faction performed well in the Lok Sabha elections, Ajit's NCP - along with the Mahayuti - retained control over the Maharashtra assembly, registering a thumping victory in the Vidhan Sabha polls.
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However, NCP lawmaker Rohit Pawar has made it clear that there is no plan to merge the two parties. He has said that the alliance is only for Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune. He has also mentioned that Sharad Pawar was not directly involved in this decision, Hindustan Times reported.
