Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar met his uncle Sharad Pawar in Baramati on Saturday. The two leaders decided to continue their political alliance. This alliance will cover the upcoming zilla parishad and panchayat samiti elections scheduled for February 5.
Meeting Strengthens Merger Speculation
This development comes despite a poor performance in recent municipal corporation polls. Results for those elections were declared just on Friday. The decision to stick together has fueled strong speculation about a possible merger between the two NCP factions.
Family and Party Leaders Attend
Other family members attended the meeting. Baramati MP Supriya Sule and MLA Rohit Pawar were present. When questioned about the meeting details, Supriya Sule responded cautiously. She asked how details of a closed-door meeting could be revealed publicly.
After the meeting, the Pawar family appeared together at an agriculture exhibition in Baramati. Ajit Pawar explained his presence. He said he was informed that Sharad Pawar was visiting the exhibition. Therefore, he went to his residence and they traveled to the venue together. He did not disclose any specifics from their private discussion.
Strategy Session for February 5 Polls
Party sources confirmed other senior leaders were also in attendance. NCP (SP) state president Shashikant Shinde joined the meeting. Former state unit chief Jayant Patil was there. Shirur MP Amol Kolhe also participated.
The group gathered to decide strategy for the February 5 elections. Shashikant Shinde provided some insight after the meeting. He stated that senior members from both parties discussed forming an alliance. This alliance would cover elections for 12 zilla parishads and 125 panchayat samitis.
They also talked about the possibility of friendly fights in some civic bodies. A friendly fight means both parties may contest against each other in select areas without serious conflict.
Previous Alliance Performance Was Poor
Both NCP factions had previously indicated a possible reunion. They joined hands for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) polls. However, that alliance performed very poorly in the results.
The NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar won 27 seats in the PMC elections. It secured 37 seats in the PCMC polls. Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP) faction performed at its lowest level. It managed to bag only three seats in PMC. It could not open its account at all in PCMC, meaning it won zero seats there.
Despite this recent electoral setback, the two factions are choosing to continue their partnership. Their focus now shifts to the crucial rural local body elections scheduled for early February.
