After Pimpri-Chinchwad, NCP factions to contest in alliance for Pune municipal polls as well

A day after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that the Nationalist Congress Party will contest the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections in alliance with the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the NCP, the two factions on Monday announced their tie-up for the Pune civic polls.

Speaking to reporters, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar said that the decision about the alliance in Pune was taken after considering the sentiments of party workers who favoured contesting the elections together.

“After NCP(SP) city chief Prashant Jagtap left the party, several workers met Supriya Sule and conveyed that, come what may, NCP(SP) should go with the ‘clock’ [NCP],” the Hindustan Times quoted Rohit Pawar as saying.

Jagtap had left the party earlier this month and joined the Congress on Friday.

“Since these are elections of party workers, the decision has been taken keeping their sentiments in mind,” Rohit Pawar added.

The NCP(SP) MLA said that the decision about the alliance had been taken considering the sentiments of local party workers.

“The alliance has been forged to ensure that the election battle becomes easier for both factions,” he said.

Rohit Pawar also said that Sharad Pawar was not involved in this decision, PTI reported. “However, he believes that party workers are important and their views matter for the civic polls,” he added.

The MLA also said that there was no talk about merging the two parties, adding that an alliance had been forged only for Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune.

On Sunday, Ajit Pawar made the announcement about Pimpri-Chinchwad while launching his party’s election campaign at Talewade, The Indian Express reported.

The Pimpri-Chinchwad area near Pune is considered a stronghold of the NCP.

The principal rival for the NCP alliance in the area is the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is an ally of Ajit Pawar’s faction at the state level.

The state’s ruling Mahayuti coalition comprises the BJP, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction and the Nationalist Congress Party group led by Ajit Pawar.

The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi comprises the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Sharad Pawar.

Ajit Pawar’s announcement came days after the Uddhav Sena and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena announced an alliance for the municipal elections in the state.

“In Pimpri Chinchwad, NCP, the party with the clock symbol and NCP, the party with the trumpet symbol, will contest the civic election in an alliance,” Ajit Pawar said on Sunday. “A parivar [family] is coming together as many people wanted this to happen.”

He added that seat-sharing talks would be finalised within the next two days, The Times of India reported.

The municipal polls in 29 cities, including Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune, will take place on January 15 and the votes will be counted a day later. The process of filing nominations began on December 23 and will conclude on Tuesday.

Ajit Pawar said that the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation “was considered one of the richest municipal corporations in Asia”, The Times of India reported.

“Today, it is burdened with debt and allegations of corruption, which were never part of its earlier history,” he was quoted as saying.

Leaders of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi said the development had not unsettled them and that they already had a Plan B ready, The Indian Express reported.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leaders in Pune told the newspaper that they had anticipated the Sharad Pawar faction’s move and that the alliance had prepared an alternative plan.

They said the Congress and Uddhav Sena would continue to contest together and explore arrangements with smaller parties such as the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi.

A Congress spokesperson also said the party would fight the civic elections alongside the Uddhav Sena, while accommodating other partners.