In a significant move, NCP-SP legislator Rohit Pawar revealed that the two rival factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will collaborate in the upcoming Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal elections. This decision marks a shift from their opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The announcement follows NCP chief Ajit Pawar’s declaration during a campaign rally that the factions will jointly contest the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections.
Rohit Pawar stated that the decision reflects the sentiments of local party workers who believe that contesting together will streamline the electoral process at the civic level. While Sharad Pawar was not directly involved in the decision-making, he emphasized the importance of prioritizing the views of grassroots workers in municipal elections. The two factions will maintain separate identities and symbols, with candidates running on the ‘Clock’ and ‘Tutari’ symbols for the Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar factions, respectively.
The primary aim of this collaboration is to strengthen the Marathi and traditional NCP voter base to present a formidable challenge to the BJP in the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad regions. Ajit Pawar, in a campaign meeting, criticized the alleged presence of vested interests in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, highlighting concerns about excessive and unrecorded expenditures and illegal land encroachments in the Kudulwadi area. The alliance between the NCP factions has elicited varied political responses, with Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and the Congress expressing differing views on the development.
