Parth Pawar’s late-night meeting with Fadnavis deepens unease within NCP
Senior leaders upset over Parth’s growing assertion after party reshuffle; Sharad Pawar emerging as rallying point for dissenters as BJP watches cracks within ally widen.
Political managers within the BJP admitted that, for now, a divided NCP and NCP (SP) suits the BJP strategically. (File images) Amid growing unease within the Nationalist Congress Party over the rising assertion of Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar, the latter held a closed-door meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at Varsha late Saturday night, triggering fresh speculation over tensions within the ruling ally and the future of Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar’s leadership in the party.
Sources in the BJP said the one-on-one meeting came against the backdrop of mounting resentment within the NCP following the recent organisational reshuffle, with sections of senior leaders unhappy over what they describe as Parth Pawar’s “high-handed” functioning and growing interference in party affairs. While publicly reiterating loyalty to the Pawar family, several senior leaders have privately expressed discomfort with the changing power equations within the party, sources said.
A BJP minister, requesting anonymity, said the meeting may also have carried a larger political message from the BJP leadership — to avoid internal confrontation and maintain stability within the Mahayuti alliance. “Parth’s growing assertion after the reconstitution of the party team has upset senior leaders such as Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare. The CM may have used the meeting to signal caution and restraint,” the minister said.
Another senior BJP functionary said Parth Pawar appears to have found himself politically isolated after attempts to sideline senior leaders triggered backlash within the party. “The perception within political circles is that these developments are also unsettling Sunetra Pawar’s authority both within the organisation and the government,” the leader said.
Officially, however, the BJP maintained that the developments were an internal matter of the NCP. “We do not interfere in the functioning of other parties,” BJP leaders said, while a close aide of Fadnavis added that the Chief Minister’s priority was to ensure that Sunetra Pawar “faces no hurdles in government functioning.”
The political churn intensified further on Sunday after former MP Anand Paranjpee met Sharad Pawar in Mumbai. Though Paranjpee described the meeting as a “courtesy call”, political observers viewed it as another sign of the growing discomfort within the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Sharad Pawar’s emergence as a rallying point for dissatisfied leaders.
Paranjpee, who recently quit the Sunetra Pawar-led NCP after being denied a Legislative Council berth and later joined the Shiv Sena, avoided commenting directly on the internal turmoil. However, BJP insiders acknowledged that Sharad Pawar’s increasing outreach to disgruntled leaders was being closely watched by the ruling alliance.
Political managers within the BJP admitted that, for now, a divided NCP and NCP (SP) suits the BJP strategically. “Both factions are busy managing their own internal challenges,” a senior BJP leader said. Yet, insiders also acknowledged that ahead of the 2029 Assembly elections, the possibility of a rapprochement between the two Pawar factions cannot be ruled out entirely.
That prospect, however, raises several unanswered questions: who would lead a reunited party, whether the Sharad Pawar faction would reconcile with the BJP-led alliance, and whether ideological differences between the two sides can be bridged.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Sunday sharpened the attack on senior NCP leaders, alleging that leaders like Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare had not remained loyal to Sharad Pawar even before the split in the undivided NCP. Referring to videos circulating on social media, Rohit Pawar claimed both Sunetra and Parth Pawar were aware of criticism directed at late Ajit Pawar by some senior leaders.
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