After Thackerays, Pawars inch closer to joining hands for civic polls
Faced with the mass exodus of local leaders to join the BJP, the NCP(SP) has found itself struggling. Similarly, the possibility of division of opposition votes is likely to harm Ajit Pawar’s party in the upcoming polls.
CM Devendra Fadnavis has already announced that his party will not form an alliance with Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s NCP in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations. (File Photo)
As Uddhav and Raj Thackeray are set to make an official announcement of an alliance on Thursday for the upcoming local body polls, the estranged Pawar family is also inching closer to an understanding ahead of the January 15 civic polls.
Both the parties are discussing the possibility of joining hands for the civic polls to Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations.
“Leaders and workers in our party have expressed the opinion that we should ally with Ajit Pawar-led NCP in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. When I met them yesterday, the leaders expressed this opinion. We have discussed this issue and soon a decision would be reached,” said Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP) state president Shashikant Shinde after the party meeting in Mumbai.
Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has already announced that his party will not form an alliance with Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s NCP in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations, claiming the alliance would mean opening up the space for the opposition parties in local body polls. This has opened the possibility of all parties except the BJP coming together in these two local bodies.
Faced with the mass exodus of local leaders to join the BJP, the NCP(SP) has found itself struggling. Similarly, the possibility of division of opposition votes is likely to harm Ajit Pawar’s party in the upcoming polls.
“This has resulted in both sides considering the option of fighting as a united front. The option to take along the rest of the opposition parties, including Congress, also stands open,” said a leader from the NCP(SP).
Based on the feedback from the local leaders, Shinde and NCP(SP) working president and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule held a meeting in Mumbai to discuss various scenarios.
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Pune president of the NCP(SP) Prashant Jagtap has, however, openly opposed the idea to ally with Ajit Pawar’s party. Commenting on his opposition, Shinde said, “I have discussed the issue with him. At a time when the elections are being held after a gap of 8 to 9 years, some adjustments will have to be made just as were made in nagar parishad and nagar panchayat polls. The only thing in alliance is that we need to have respectable number,” he said.
“Our party runs on a democratic basis. Therefore, the party will not take any decision without taking the leaders, office bearers and workers into confidence. I had a two-hour discussion with the party leader in Pune, Prashant Jagtap, on Monday. At present, we have not received an official proposal from any party in Pune regarding the alliance. There are various discussions going on regarding the alliance in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. But it is not right to talk about it until a final decision is made,” said Sule.
Sunil Tatkare, the state president of ruling NCP, however, maintained that no final decision has been taken. “The final decision regarding the alliance in the municipal elections will be taken in two days. There will be a meeting of the party MLAs on Wednesday, in which a review will be taken. Ajit Pawar will take a decision regarding Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad and he has interviewed candidates in Pune for the last two days. A decision regarding the alliance here will be taken on Wednesday,” Tatkare said.
Alok Deshpande is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express' Mumbai bureau, recognized for his focused and authoritative reporting on governance, politics, and the socio-economic dynamics of Maharashtra's hinterlands. His unique academic background in Geology and early work in the water sector provides a specialized layer of Expertise to his reporting on resource and environmental issues.
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