Maharashtra News: Major blow to Ajit Pawar as 4 NCP leaders quit party ahead of assembly polls

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has suffered a blow after four top leaders resigned in Maharashtra's Pimpri Chinchwad. According to reports, these four leaders are likely to join the parent faction of NCP led by Sharad Pawar later this week.

The development comes after a poor showing by the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in the recent Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP contested the Lok Sabha elections as part of the BJP-led NDA but could win just one seat—Raigad—while Sharad Pawar-led NCP bagged eight.

The resignations come amid a buzz that some leaders in the Ajit Pawar camp are willing to return to the Sharad Pawar fold, according to a report in NDTV. 

The NDTV report said Ajit Gavhane, the chief of NCP's Pimpri-Chinchwad unit, is among those who have submitted their resignations to Ajit Pawar. The others include Pimpri Chinchwad Students' Wing chief Yash Sane and former corporators Rahul Bhosale and Pankaj Bhalekar. 

These developments come days after Sharad Pawar said that those who wanted to "weaken" his party would not be taken in, but he would accept leaders who would not "hurt" the party's image.

“Those who wanted to weaken the party would not be taken in. But those leaders who would help strengthen the organization and not hurt the image of the party would be taken in,” Pawar had said.

Nationalist Congress Party Split

In 2023, Ajit Pawar led a rebellion against his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar, splitting the party into two political parties. While Sharad Pawar remained in the Opposition camp, Ajit Pawar joined the Mahayuti government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra and was made the Deputy Chief Minister.

Maharashtra is going to polls in October-November. Last week, NCP chief Sharad Pawar sounded a poll bugle and said that the opposition MVA will comfortably win the election to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly.