3 min readPuneFeb 7, 2026 08:50 AM IST
First published on: Feb 7, 2026 at 08:50 AM IST
As the NCP-NCP(SP) alliance cancelled its election campaign for the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections following the demise of Ajit Pawar, NCP(SP) leader and the late deputy chief minister’s nephew Rohit Pawar has appealed to voters, saying now was the right time to cooperate by supporting the ideology of the deceased leader and carry forward his legacy in the elections.
Earlier, the NCP released a video of Ajit Pawar recorded just before his death in which he appealed to voters to elect NCP candidates as the party was always committed to developing rural areas and electing the party candidate would further enable it to carry out this development by providing civic services using the latest in technology. “The video of NCP chief Ajit Pawar for the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls was recorded on January 24 at his official residence of Devgiri in Mumbai. The video is for votes and media. It is an original video,” said NCP leader Anand Paranjpe.
The elections of 12 zila parishads and Panchayat Samitis were scheduled for February 5, but they were postponed after Ajit Pawar’s death. The election is now scheduled for February 7 and the results will be declared on February 9.
On the insistence of Ajit Pawar, the NCP and NCP(SP) had forged a pre-poll alliance for the ongoing civic polls and Ajit Pawar himself led the campaign to retain political hold of NCP in the rural area of Maharashtra. Both NCPs had decided to contest on the party’s symbol, the clock, to avoid confusion among voters as the BJP had posed a stiff challenge to the party.
In a tweet, Rohit Pawar said, “It was for the election campaign … that Ajit Pawar was travelling when his plane crashed and we lost him. Everyone is aware that due to this sad incident, the Pawar family, despite the advance planning, could not carry out an election campaign for any of our candidates in the election.”
“Thus, it is a request to all voters of Zila Parishads where the elections are scheduled to consider this appropriate time to cooperate in supporting the ideology of Ajit Pawar by remembering him and it will be a true homage to the deceased leader by carrying forward his legacy of thoughts,” he said.
The NCP and NCP(SP) had declared that they would not hold an election campaign through rallies or meetings. Candidates were only urged to distribute pamphlets among voters at their doorsteps to seek their votes.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had also declared that he would not participate in the election campaign for the BJP or its alliance partner’s candidates citing Ajit’s death. The BJP has also decided that it would not celebrate its victory in the election of Mayors and deputy Mayors in various municipal corporations of the state.
“There will not be any celebration of the victory of the BJP candidate for the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor in the Pune civic body,” said city BJP chief Dheeraj Ghate.
The election is now scheduled for February 7 and the results will be declared on February 9. 
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