Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday claimed that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar would eventually return to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), asserting that the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) were headed towards reunification.
Speaking to reporters, Raut said the ruling NCP and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) had effectively come together, pointing to the fact that both factions are contesting the upcoming Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections on the ‘clock’ symbol. “Though Ajit Pawar is part of the Mahayuti, he is still emotionally connected with the MVA. Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar will come together. Ajit Pawar cannot step on two stones,” Raut said.
Ajit Pawar had joined the then Eknath Shinde-led government in July 2024 along with eight MLAs, triggering a split in the NCP. His faction retained the party name and the ‘clock’ symbol, while the outfit led by Sharad Pawar is now known as NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
The two NCP factions have recently contested municipal corporation elections together in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad and have announced a tie-up for the third phase of civic body polls scheduled for February 5, where they will contest on the Ajit Pawar-led party’s symbol.
Raut also alleged growing unease within the ruling Mahayuti, claiming that Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is unhappy with the BJP over the mayoral post in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. He claimed that even the BJP’s central leadership in Delhi was unwilling to relent on the issue.
In the recently held civic elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 89 seats, while its ally Shiv Sena secured 29, giving the Mahayuti a narrow majority in the 227-member BMC. Shinde has maintained that Mumbai will have a Mahayuti mayor, though he has not clarified how the post will be shared among alliance partners.
Though largely ceremonial, the Mumbai mayor’s post is seen as a powerful symbol of political dominance, with the mayor presiding over key meetings of the country’s richest civic body.
