Supriya Sule and Ajit Pawar — prominent leaders from rival factions of the Nationalist Congress Party — made waves on Saturday after making a joint appearance for the Pune civic body polls. The NCP and NCP (SP) have sparked buzz about a reconciliation after allying for the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections. The two leaders shared a stage for the first time since the bitter split in 2023 as they released a common manifesto for the civic body polls.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had led a revolt against his uncle Sharad Pawar in July 2023 — walking out of the party with loyalist MLAs to join the Shiv Sena-BJP government. His faction was later recognised by the Election Commission as the real NCP and allotted the trademark ‘clock’ poll symbol. The remaining members had regrouped under the NCP (Sharad Pawar) party.
Allies or rivals?
The two parties have remained bitter rivals in the ensuing years and even fielded candidates against each other in the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections. But party leaders released somewhat contradictory statements in recent weeks — with some appearing on board with a reunion.
“We are firm on working under the BJP and Narendra Modi’s leadership. Our alliance is only with the BJP and NDA. Not much should be read into these (municipal level) local alliances,” senior NCP leader Praful Patel told PTI on Friday.
NCP State president Sunil Tatkare added that he had “no personal objections” to a merger between the two groups. He told reporters earlier this week that the decision to align with NDA was discussed extensively within the party but deferred repeatedly over the years.
“Eventually, we did decide to go with NDA. We faced criticism then, and continue to do so even today. Therefore, if a merger decision is taken in future, it too will have to be a collective one. I have no personal opposition to it…We have already decided to remain with NDA, and we are firm on that stand,” Times of India quoted him as saying.
Congress leader predicts ‘ministerial berth for Sule’
Senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar opined that the release of a common manifesto was ‘akin to reunification’ and predicted that NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule would soon be inducted into the central government. He alleged that the “reunion” appeared to be driven by the lure of power rather than ideological convergence or concern for party workers, he alleged.
“If their (NCP and NCP-SP’s) manifestos have come together, then it can be said they have come together…Traditionally, the NCP keeps changing its stand because it cannot survive without power. If it remains out of power, the party will collapse.” said Wadettiwar.