Mumbai: The alliance between Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions for the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal elections has drawn divided reactions among party workers, some of whom welcome the reunion while others call the move ideologically inconsistent.
Discontent is particularly visible within NCP (Sharad Pawar), where workers are struggling to reconcile their opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party with an alliance that brings them together with the Ajit Pawar faction—a partner in the BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra.
“I am not really happy with what has happened. This is against my principals and ideology. On one side, we talk about opposing BJP and on other end, we join hands with someone who is in power with BJP in the state. This is all about family,” a functionary of the Sharad Pawar NCP told ThePrint Monday.
The unease has already cost the party a prominent face. Last week, Prashant Jagtap, the party’s face in Pune and a former mayor, quit citing ideological concerns over partnering with Ajit Pawar’s NCP. Jagtap has since joined the Congress.
However, workers from the Ajit Pawar camp defended the decision, saying the alliance reflects ground-level sentiment and practical political considerations.
A functionary in Pimpri Chinchwad told ThePrint, “As of now, our workers thought we should go with other NCP because we have worked together in the past and have always fought against the BJP. So it was not very difficult to form the alliance. Besides, we have a lot of hopefuls and everyone could not have been accommodated had we gone with Mahayuti.”
The functionary added, “We don’t know what will happen next, but for now the alliance will work for PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation) and PCMC (Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation).”
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Grassroots consensus or family deal?
The alliance was announced Sunday when Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar declared at a campaign event in Pimpri Chinchwad that the two NCP factions would contest together. “For the sake of these municipal elections, the ‘clock’ and the ‘tutari’ (trumpet) have come together. The Parivar (family) has united as many people wanted it,” he said, referring to the election symbols of both the NCPs.
His nephew and NCP (Sharad Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar, confirming the tie-up for the Pune Municipal Corporation as well, emphasised that the decision came from workers.
“This decision was taken in consultation with the grassroot workers who feel that we should come together. The alliance reflects the sentiments of local party workers. Supriya tai also spoke with everyone and they say that it is better if we go with ‘clock’ and since this is a workers’ election, we have decided to go ahead with it,” Rohit said, referring to senior leader Supriya Sule, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Pune’s Baramati and Sharad Pawar’s daughter.
But Rohit clarified the alliance was limited to the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad polls and did not signal any merger of the two factions.
Yet, criticism has persisted.
At Sunday’s event in Baramati, Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule shared the stage with industrialist Gautam Adani for the inauguration of the Sharadchandra Pawar Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence. In her speech, Sule said she considered Adani her big brother who has at times scolded her and cared for her—a statement that drew criticism given the Congress’s opposition to the industrialist.
“On some days, we are fighting as INDIA bloc and are with Congress, who is opposing Adani, and on other hand, we say he is our big brother. This feels everything is done for the family and a merger in future is on cards,” the functionary said, referring to the coalition of Opposition parties that was formed to counter the BJP in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The coalition did not go down well with allies on either side.
While the Congress and Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray announced their own alliance in Pune on Monday, the BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena are still negotiating seat-sharing arrangements.
‘Strategic compulsions’
The alliance comes as elections to 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, including Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune, are scheduled for 15 January 15, with counting set for the following day. The last date to file nominations is Tuesday.
Following the recent union of the Thackerays—the other political dynasty in Maharashtra—the Pawar alliance represents another unlikely partnership taking shape ahead of municipal polls, one considered a strategic move to challenge the BJP’s dominance in the two cities.
The NCP has traditionally held strong control over Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad corporations, both considered strongholds in western Maharashtra. But that grip slipped in 2017 when the BJP won both corporations. With the cities undergoing rapid development—metro lines and industries expanding—the BJP is keen to retain its hold.
Political analyst Hemant Desai said the alliance was inevitable. “BJP’s strength has increased in Pune and PCMC, and the Pawars, who held these corporations earlier, their power is diminishing. So, it is imperative that they come together as these regions are developing,” he said.
Desai added that Sharad Pawar may be calculating his family’s long-term political survival. “Besides, I feel Pawar senior must be thinking that Ajit Pawar’s appeal in the state is better than Supriya Sule. And so going forward, NCP(SP) will need Ajit Pawar’s cooperation as Sharad Pawar is ailing. The party has limitations as Jayant Patil has been sidelined and their state president Shashikant Shinde does not have mass appeal,” he said.
Ajit Pawar, who is the Guardian Minister of Pune, has been vocal about his ambitions to regain power in the two cities. At Sunday’s event, he urged party workers to focus on the development plank. “We come from a farming family. Some decisions must be taken for the larger interest of Maharashtra. We are the ones working for progress. We will ensure those who tried to burden the municipal corporation with debt are pushed out,” he said.
Since the assembly elections last year, the Pawar family has been seen together at multiple occasions—from Jai Pawar’s (Ajit’s son) engagement to Yugendra Pawar’s (Ajit and Supriya’s nephew) wedding, and celebrations for Sharad Pawar’s birthday. The clan has also posted family photos on social media.
The family solidarity was on display even during the recent controversy involving Parth Pawar, Ajit’s son, who faced allegations of corruption in the purchase of a Rs 1,800 crore Mundwa land plot. While Ajit Pawar did not publicly back his son, Supriya Sule came out in his support.
The NCP split in 2023, following which the two factions fought against each other in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. While the Sharad Pawar faction won 8 out of 10 seats it contested, the family notably refrained from attacking each other personally during the campaign.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
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