‘Ajit Hasn’t Abandoned Ideology’: Supriya Sule Signals Possible Pawar Pact For BMC Polls, Says Talks Underway
Mumbai: After Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray announced their surprise partnership, attention has now shifted to whether senior and junior Pawar will also come together ahead of the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra. Speculation has intensified after NCP (Sharad Pawar) MP Supriya Sule said her party is in discussions with Ajit Pawar and that senior leaders from both sides have been in contact.
“Of course, we are exploring all alliances. Ajit Pawar keeps saying he has not given up that ideology. Right now, the focus is on the corporation elections. Many of our colleagues have spoken to each other,” Sule said. “We are engaged in dialogue with them, but no decision or final offer has been reached,” she added.
The remarks come as municipal corporation elections are expected to be held next month, prompting parties to work through multiple alliance options. With the BJP having consolidated its dominance in both the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has been considering a tie-up with Sharad Pawar’s party in these two civic bodies in Pune district.
The original NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar, split in 2023, after which Ajit Pawar’s faction joined the BJP–Shiv Sena alliance in the state government and was later recognised as the “real NCP” in an Election Commission ruling. Since then, the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), now known as NCP (SP), has been contesting against Ajit Pawar’s NCP in various elections and on several social and political issues.
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In the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections, Ajit Pawar’s NCP improved its performance from just six Assembly segment leads in the Lok Sabha results to winning 41 MLAs, defeating Sharad Pawar-backed candidates in 27 direct contests, while the latter won seven such battles. Overall, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured 235 seats, including 132 for the BJP, 57 for the Shiv Sena, and 41 for the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), while the Maha Vikas Aghadi was reduced to 20 seats for Shiv Sena (UBT), 16 for the Congress, and 10 for the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction).