Mumbai: Ahead of the Assembly elections, the NCP chief Ajit Pawar is visibly upset. On one hand many of his supporters deserting the party at the same time on the other the seat sharing negotiations are likely to turn acrimonious. Due to which Pawar is sulking.
On Friday, Deepak Salunkhe, a leader from Sangola in Solapur district quit the NCP to join the Shiv Sena (UBT). Salunkhe, a popular face in Sangola was aspiring ticket from NCP. But suddenly crossed over at a function organised at Matoshree, the residence of Uddhav Thackeray.
Prior to this over 600 party NCP workers and officials from the Pune city unit resigned. The agitated workers were protesting the Governor’s decision not to grant an MLC post to Pune City President Deepak Mankar. The development came on the same day when the Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the state assembly election.
Mankar’s supporters gathered at the NCP office in the Narayanpeth area of Pune city on Tuesday evening and held a meeting, where they announced their resignation. The mass resignation included prominent names like city vice presidents, assembly constituency chiefs, various cell heads, and party workers.
Notably, the city unit had demanded Mankar’s appointment to one of the three MLC seats allocated to the party from the Governor’s quota. However, the NCP chose to re-nominate those with existing family connections to politics. They also prepared a memorandum to be submitted to the party national president and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, expressing disappointment and disillusionment.
At the same time, the seat-sharing process among the partners of the Mahayuti alliance BJP and Shiv Sena is becoming a tricky business. Every constituent strives to secure a bigger share. Now Ajit Pawar, is bearing the brunt of this sensitive process, as many of his loyalists have quit the party and joined rival factions.
So far till date, over half a dozen NCP senior leaders switched from the NCP to rival parties, with most returning to his uncle Sharad Pawar’s camp. One notable departure that jolted Ajit Pawar was Sanjeevraje Naik-Nimbalkar, the Satara unit chief of the NCP. The royal Naik-Nimbalkar family holds considerable clout in Satara and adjacent areas, and Sanjeevraje’s return has boosted the prospects of Sharad Pawar’s NCP.
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