Putting months of factional rivalry on hold, the Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar announced a joint fight for the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections, a move driven as much by political arithmetic as by the symbolism of a Pawar family reunion. The announcement was made by Ajit Pawar on Sunday night while addressing his first public rally in Prabhag 1 of Pimpri-Chinchwad.
“While contesting the municipal elections, the Nationalist Congress Party represented by the clock and the trumpet is facing the polls together. This is helping reunite the family once again. Many people had these feelings in their hearts,” Ajit Pawar said, underlining the emotional and political significance of the move.
Elaborating further, the Deputy Chief Minister said the alliance would not face any hurdles at the national level either. “There is no problem, because we have some MPs who share our ideology. We can ask them to raise issues in Delhi as well, so there is no difficulty there. Therefore, while contesting the Pimpri-Chinchwad elections, both factions of the NCP are coming together to fight the polls,” he added, formally confirming the joint contest.
The announcement follows three rounds of meetings held by NCP MP Amol Kolhe and MLA Rohit Pawar with leaders from the Ajit Pawar faction. Sources said the decision to fight the civic elections together was finalised after these discussions. A joint list of candidates from both factions is expected to be announced on Monday.
Leaders from both sides were also seen sharing the stage earlier on Sunday in Baramati during the inauguration of the Sharad Pawar Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence. The event was inaugurated by industrialist Gautam Adani and was attended by Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, Rohit Pawar and other members of the Pawar family, signalling a visible thaw between the two camps.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has announced that it will contest the Pimpri-Chinchwad civic polls independently. The party has set itself a target of winning 125 seats, raising the slogan “Abki Baar 125 Paar”, and has claimed that the Opposition could be reduced to just three seats.
The NCP has strongly criticised these assertions, accusing the BJP of arrogance and excessive confidence, and warning that such overconfidence could prove costly at the ballot box.
