In a jolt to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, four leaders of the Pimpri-Chinchwad unit of the party tendered their resignations and joined the Sharad Pawar camp on Wednesday. This comes after the NCP's poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls and ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
The chief of the NCP's Pimpri-Chinchwad unit, Ajit Gavhane, was among those who submitted their resignations to Ajit Pawar. The list also included Pimpri Chinchwad Students' Wing chief Yash Sane and former corporators Rahul Bhosale and Pankaj Bhalekar.
On several Ajit Pawar-led NCP leaders and corporators from Pimpri Chinchwad joining Sharad Pawar-led NCP-SCP, NCP-SCP working president Supriya Sule said, "I think everyone has different experiences in the party. We never let our ideology and the ideology of development take a back seat. [Sharad] Pawar Sahab has been working continuously for the last 60 years in Maharashtra and at the Centre for development. We believe in the ideology of Pawar Sahab, but others too look at him with great hopes and are therefore joining him."
In 2023, the Pawar family witnessed a split into two political parties after a rebellion by Ajit Pawar against Sharad Pawar. While the NCP founder remained in the opposition camp, Ajit Pawar joined hands with the Mahayuti government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and became Deputy CM.
Ajit Pawar-led NCP contested the Lok Sabha elections as part of the BJP-led NDA but managed to win only one seat—Raigad—while his uncle's Sharad Pawar secured eight.