The Nationalist Congress Party’s Sharad Pawar-led faction suffered a significant setback in Mumbai on Monday, just a day before the deadline for filing nominations for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, with Rakhi Jadhav, the party’s Mumbai district president, joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Jadhav’s defection is being seen as a major blow to the Sharad Pawar faction, which has struggled for years to build a strong organisational presence in the city.
Sources said Jadhav had been managing the party’s affairs in Mumbai almost single-handedly and played a crucial role in negotiations related to ticket distribution for the civic polls. However, she was reportedly deeply dissatisfied with the seat-sharing arrangement finalised by the party. Despite entering into an alliance with the Thackeray brothers for the BMC elections, the Sharad Pawar faction was allotted only five to ten seats, a development that is understood to have triggered widespread discontent among party workers and office-bearers.
With growing pressure from within the organisation and questions being raised over the limited number of seats, Jadhav is said to have expressed her unhappiness to senior leaders. Sources added that she formally joined the BJP on Monday. There is also speculation that the BJP may field her as a candidate from the Ghatkopar ward.
Her exit is expected to deal a serious blow to the Sharad Pawar faction at a time when it is attempting to retain relevance and organisational strength in Mumbai.
For several years, Jadhav had been at the forefront of efforts to strengthen the NCP in the city, where the party’s influence has traditionally remained limited. She played a key role in grassroots organisation, maintaining contact with workers and ensuring their continued engagement with the party.
However, the allocation of only a handful of seats for the BMC elections reportedly left her increasingly frustrated.
According to sources, when concerns were raised with senior leaders, Jadhav was advised to ask aspirants to consider contesting on the ticket of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction. It is learnt that party leaders suggested that, in order to prevent a split among workers, aspirants should directly join Ajit Pawar’s NCP and contest the elections. Following calls made from the party office, several prominent leaders and office-bearers switched sides.
Those who have joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP include former corporator Dhananjay Pisal, Hindi-speaking cell chief Manish Dubey, Mumbai Gujarati division president Yaminiben Panchal, Nitin Deshmukh, a close associate of Jitendra Awhad, and general secretary Ashok Panchal. Sources indicated that more aspirants from the Sharad Pawar faction may follow suit in the coming days.The Nationalist Congress Party’s Sharad Pawar-led faction suffered a significant setback in Mumbai on Monday, just a day before the deadline for filing nominations for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, with Rakhi Jadhav, the party’s Mumbai district president, joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Jadhav’s defection is being seen as a major blow to the Sharad Pawar faction, which has struggled for years to build a strong organisational presence in the city.
Sources said Jadhav had been managing the party’s affairs in Mumbai almost single-handedly and played a crucial role in negotiations related to ticket distribution for the civic polls. However, she was reportedly deeply dissatisfied with the seat-sharing arrangement finalised by the party. Despite entering into an alliance with the Thackeray brothers for the BMC elections, the Sharad Pawar faction was allotted only five to ten seats, a development that is understood to have triggered widespread discontent among party workers and office-bearers.
With growing pressure from within the organisation and questions being raised over the limited number of seats, Jadhav is said to have expressed her unhappiness to senior leaders. Sources added that she formally joined the BJP on Monday. There is also speculation that the BJP may field her as a candidate from the Ghatkopar ward.
Her exit is expected to deal a serious blow to the Sharad Pawar faction at a time when it is attempting to retain relevance and organisational strength in Mumbai.
For several years, Jadhav had been at the forefront of efforts to strengthen the NCP in the city, where the party’s influence has traditionally remained limited. She played a key role in grassroots organisation, maintaining contact with workers and ensuring their continued engagement with the party.
However, the allocation of only a handful of seats for the BMC elections reportedly left her increasingly frustrated.
According to sources, when concerns were raised with senior leaders, Jadhav was advised to ask aspirants to consider contesting on the ticket of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction. It is learnt that party leaders suggested that, in order to prevent a split among workers, aspirants should directly join Ajit Pawar’s NCP and contest the elections. Following calls made from the party office, several prominent leaders and office-bearers switched sides.
Those who have joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP include former corporator Dhananjay Pisal, Hindi-speaking cell chief Manish Dubey, Mumbai Gujarati division president Yaminiben Panchal, Nitin Deshmukh, a close associate of Jitendra Awhad, and general secretary Ashok Panchal. Sources indicated that more aspirants from the Sharad Pawar faction may follow suit in the coming days.
