Pawar Politics Heats Up: Ajit Signals Unity as NCP Factions Lock Horns in Civic Polls

As the battle for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad’s municipal corporations gathers momentum, Maharashtra’s most watched political family has once again taken centre stage. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, on his first campaign visit to the twin cities, sparked fresh buzz about a possible reunion within the Nationalist Congress Party when he responded to a question on unity with Sharad Pawar’s faction with a cryptic but telling line, “Aap ke mooh mein ghee shakkar.”

The remark, made during an interaction with the media, has added to growing speculation that the long-running rift within the Pawar family could be softening, at least at the grassroots level. Ajit Pawar later told an electronic news channel that workers from both NCP factions were keen on coming together and that tensions within the family had been resolved. His comments come at a crucial moment, with leaders and cadres from both camps working in overlapping political spaces to protect their influence in Pune, a region historically seen as the Pawars’ political fortress.

The unity talk has also been fuelled by recent comments from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who publicly stated that Ajit Pawar would remain in the state government till 2029 and would continue to contest elections as part of the ruling alliance. Fadnavis further underlined that Ajit Pawar was contesting the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic polls with full force, while the BJP was backing him with equal intensity, a signal that the ruling coalition sees this contest as strategically vital.

However, behind the campaign optics, the battle for the NCP’s soul remains unresolved. Both factions are currently fighting a legal war in the Supreme Court over the party’s official name, symbol and recognition, a dispute that continues to shape every political move on the ground.

Sharad Pawar’s daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule sought to play down the speculation around a larger political reunion. While acknowledging that the current civic election tie-ups were driven by local workers, she made it clear that there has been no formal discussion on extending any alliance beyond these polls. “There has been no discussion on whether this alliance will continue. I don’t give much thought to such talks,” she said, also dismissing rumours of her or her nephew Rohit Pawar joining the BJP-led government.

On the other side, Ajit Pawar loyalist and Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel struck a far more decisive tone, ruling out any reconciliation with the Sharad Pawar-led group. Patel reiterated that the NCP faction in power is firmly aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will remain part of the BJP-led NDA.

With high-stakes civic elections underway and a family feud still playing out in courtrooms and campaign rallies, the Pawar saga continues to keep Maharashtra politics on edge, where every word, including “ghee shakkar,” carries far more meaning than it appears.
​