After Supriya Sule’s call, both NCP factions hold first joint talks for alliance
Leaders from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Sharad Pawar-led NCP met in Pimpri Chinchwad on Tuesday, signalling early efforts to explore local-level coordination to prevent the BJP from gaining an advantage due to a divided opposition.
PUNE: A phone call from NCP (SP) executive president and MP, Supriya Sule, advising against a split in the party’s traditional vote base, has set the stage for the first round of talks between the two rival NCP factions ahead of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections.
The two NCP camps met on Tuesday, a day after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the BJP would contest the civic polls independently, without its Mahayuti allies, in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad.
Later in the evening, Tushar Kamthe, Pimpri Chinchwad chief of the NCP (SP), submitted a proposal on jointly contesting the elections to NCP chief and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who was in the city to hold meetings with poll hopefuls.
Kamthe told Ajit Pawar that the NCP (SP) unit was in favour of both NCP factions contesting the municipal corporation elections together to prevent a split in votes and to effectively challenge the BJP in the city.
Earlier, leaders from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Sharad Pawar-led NCP met in Pimpri Chinchwad on Tuesday, signalling early efforts to explore local-level coordination to prevent the BJP from gaining an advantage due to a divided opposition. Civic elections in Maharashtra, including the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, are scheduled for January 15.
Nana Kate, election in-charge of the NCP, and Sunil Gavhane, a member of the election core committee of the NCP (SP), led the meeting. While both sides described it as informal, the talks mark the first direct engagement between the two factions ahead of the civic polls.
Addressing the media, Kate said, “This was not a formal meeting. Sunil Gavhane met me to discuss how to face the civic elections. A few days ago, our leader Ajit Pawar had instructed us to hold talks with the other NCP faction, as they are ready to contest the elections on our symbol,” he said.
Kate said Sule had recently spoken to him over the phone, to congratulate him on his daughter’s wedding. “During that conversation, she advised that the two NCP factions should avoid dividing votes and that discussions should be initiated with local leaders,” he said, suggesting that the outreach from the Sharad Pawar camp had played a role in opening channels of communication.
Sule, who was in Delhi on Tuesday and met Union home minister Amit Shah to raise state-related law and order issues, did not react to Gavhane’s comments.
Gavhane said the meeting was part of a broader strategy emerging within the NCP (SP) to counter the BJP’s solo push in urban civic bodies. “Our senior leaders have instructed us that, to stop the BJP, alliances should be explored at the local level wherever possible. Accordingly, a core committee was formed and this meeting was held,” he said.
He added that both sides acknowledged that a three-cornered or fractured contest would only benefit the BJP. “It was felt that if the two NCP factions contest separately, it would lead to a split in votes, which could directly help the BJP,” Gavhane said.
Leaders from both camps pointed to recent developments in Kagal in Kolhapur district, where the two NCP factions came together for local body elections, as a possible template. In Kagal, coordination between leaders aligned with Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar helped consolidate the NCP’s base and prevent a division in votes, a model now being discussed for urban civic contests.
According to Gavhane, the initial round of talks has taken into account feedback from grassroots workers of both NCP camps, many of whom have been pushing for unity, at least at the ward level. “The situation will become clearer in the next two to three days,” he said, indicating that more structured discussions could follow.
The meeting assumes significance against the backdrop of the BJP’s decision to go it alone in key urban municipal corporations, including Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, a move that has altered electoral calculations for both NCP factions and heightened the urgency for tactical cooperation.
In Pune, however, the NCP (SP) appears to have almost made up its mind to contest as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), following resistance from within the party. City unit chief Prashant Jagtap has publicly voiced opposition to any understanding with the Ajit Pawar camp.
Reacting to speculation about a possible political reconciliation between Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar, Jagtap said, “I have received written instructions from the party, from Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule and Shashikant Shinde, to prepare for the elections as part of the MVA alliance. But, in politics, there is no such thing as possible or impossible.”
On the BJP and NCP contesting separately in Pimpri Chinchwad, Jagtap said, “This is their election strategy. All parties in the MVA are observing that if they had included him, it would have benefited the BJP.”
A phone call from NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule has initiated talks between rival NCP factions ahead of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections on January 15. Both camps aim to avoid a split vote that could benefit the BJP, which plans to contest independently. Recent collaboration in Kagal serves as a potential model for unity in urban contests.